Ahm'ii^rHcX^py^ 


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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


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S/ie//., 


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BX  7233  .M25  C3 

McKenzie,  Alexander,  1830 

1914. 
Cambridge  sermons 


CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS 


BY 

ALEXANDER  "'McKENZIE 


BOSTON 
D.    LOTHROP    AND    COMPANY 

32    FRANKLIN    STREET 


COPYKIGHT,    1883. 
D.  LOTHBOP  AND  COMrAXf. 


These  sermons  are,  for  tlie  most  part,  printed  from 
reports  made  by  Mr.  H.  W.  Gleason. 


CONTENTS.  ''^^^,<^- 


I.- 

—  The  one  Life      .... 

7 

II. 

—  Who  loved  Me           ... 

31 

•  III.- 

—  Choose  whom  ye  will  serve 

49 

ly.- 

—  Looking  toward  the  Sea 

70 

V.- 

—  The  good  Merchant 

83 

>VI.- 

—  Wliy  stand  ye  gazing 

102 

YIL- 

—  Not  by  might,  but  by  Spirit      . 

122 

^VIIL- 

—  Grieving  the  Holy  Spirit 

142 

^  IX.- 

—  Turning  Northward 

162 

X.- 

—  What  must  I  do 

183 

XI.- 

—  The  Love  of  God  maniiL'sted    . 

.    am 

-.  XII.- 

-We  shall  be  like  Him 

222 

>  XIII.- 

—  The  unchanging  Christ 

240 

XIV.- 

—  The  wayside  Seed      .         .         .         . 

263 

XV.- 

—  Truth  commending  Itself 

283 

XVL- 

-The  Power  of  an  endless  Life 

303 

CAMBRIDGE    SERMONS. 


Scripture  Lesson 

Text  :    And  I,  even  I  only,  am  left ;    and  they  seek  my  life,  to 
take  it  away.  —  I  Kings,  xix :  lo. 

I  EVEN  I  only,  am  left."  What  a  chance  he 
had,  the  only  man  in  Israel  who  loved  God, 
and  whom  God  approved !  What  a  communion 
must  have  been  given  him  as  the  Spirit  of  God 
dwelt  with  him  !  What  an  opportunit}^  for  use- 
fulness !  He  was  not  bearing  to  the  people  a 
common  thing  ;  he  was  not  standing  as  a  wit- 
ness to  that  which  everybody  knew,  and  offer- 
ing to  men  that  which  others  could  give  to 
them ;  he  was  the  only  man  who  could  make 
the  people  see  God ;  who  was  authorized  to  speak 
for  him;  to  whom  men  might  point  ^ and  say, 
"  Behold  the  servant  of  God."  Our  influence 
is  so  much  curtailed,  and  our  opportunities  to 
bless  the  world,  because  there  are  so  many 
others  who  have  the  same  kind  of  goods  to  sell, 
the  same  kind  of  spirit  to  illustrate,  the  same 
sort  of  influence  to  exert,  that  when  one  finds 
himself  standing  alone,  holding  a  great  treasure, 

7 


8  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS, 

or  repveseDting  some  great  truth,  it  is  then  that 
his  opportunity  has  come.  It  sometimes  hap- 
pens that  there  is  one  only  of  a  family  who 
loves  Christ.  What  an  opportunity  is  his  !  There 
may  be  only  one  in  a  circle  of  friends  who  serves 
God  ;  there  may  be  only  one  in  a  class,  one  among 
the  clerks  in  a  store,  one  in  a  firm  of  merchants, 
one  in  any  of  the  associations  of  life.  Almost 
everybody  we  know  may  be  a  stranger  to  God. 
What  a  divine  opportunity,  to  be  promptly  and 
heartily  improved !  It  was  a  misconception  on 
this  man's  part,  that  he  was  alone  in  his  fidel- 
ity ;  yet  the  influence  of  seven  thousand  who 
had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,  and  whose 
lips  had  not  kissed  him,  went  for  very  little 
so  long  as  they  chose  to  be  concealed.  No  one 
wishes  to  deny  the  value  of  secret  piety ;  but 
no  man  ever  read  in  his  New  Testament  that 
secret  piety  was  enough.  It  is  not  more  plainly 
required  of  us  that  we  believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  than  that  we  let  the  world  know 
that  we  believe  on  him.  The  word  of  the  Gos- 
pel which  we  have  read  this  morning,  which 
bids  whosoever  will  to  come  to  him,  with  equal 
emphasis  bids  whosoever  comes  to  repeat  the 
word,  that  it  may  pass  from  man  to  man,  and 
land  to  land,  until,  all  through  the  earth,  the 
other  sheep  which  are  not  of  this  fold  are  brought 
into  the  one  flock  under  the  one  shepherd. 

Nobly  had   this   man   Elijah   used  his   oppor- 


TUB  ONE  LIFE.  9 

tiiiiity.  When  he  was  called  uj^on  to  stand 
alone,  he  stood  alone.  "  I,  I  only  remain  a 
prophet  of  the  Lord ;  but  Baal's  prophets  are 
four  hundred  and  fifty  men."  He  matched 
himself  against  them  all ;  he  denied  nothing ; 
he  concealed  nothing;  he  withheld  nothing. 
He  stood  out  in  that  simple  personality,  one 
man  here  and  four  hundred  and  fifty  there ; 
one  man  with  God  and  the  hundreds  with  Baal ; 
and  this  one  man  wdth  God  outnumbered  and 
subdued  them  all.  Then  there  came  that  reac- 
tion which  comes  so  often;  a  reaction  which 
is  needed.  It  is  scarcely  possible  that  with  such 
success  and  such  wonderful  achievements  as 
marked  the  life  of  Elijah,  he  should  be  able 
to  bear  this  pressure  and  to  live  in  this  exalted 
state.  It  was  almost  inevitable  that,  when 
the  excitement  was  withdrawn,  when  no  longer 
there  were  hundreds  of  men  to  resist  him,  and 
he  stood  alone,  the  conqueror  —  it  was  almost 
inevitable  that  his  heart  should  fail  him.  It  was 
necessary  that  he  should  have  this  recalling  to 
himself.  God  gives  it  to  us ;  he  gave  it  to 
Elijah;  he  gave  it  to  St.  Paul  afterwards.  Lest 
he  should  be  exalted  out  of  measure  by  the 
abundance  of  the  revelation,  lest  he  should  be 
exalted  in  his  own  thoughts  and  be  separated 
from  his  work,  God  gave  to  St.  Paul  a  thorn 
in  the  flesh.  He  gave  to  Elijah  that  woman 
Jezebel  to  bring  him  to  humility,  that  he  might 


10  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

feel   it    was    God    alone    wlio    was    great,    even 
tlioiigli  he  was  the  prophet  of  God.     There  was 
a  fallmg  back    into  dismay  and  disappointment ; 
there   was  a  halting,  becanse  of  the   fear  which 
oppressed    his     soul.      Then    there    came    those 
grand   lessons.       One    brought    him    down   from 
the    comfort   of  the    proud    seclusion   in    which 
he   lived.      He   w\as  reminded   that    there    were 
seven   thousand  v/ho  were    like   himself;     seven 
thousand  faithful  hearts.     It  was  not  altogether 
a   pleasant   thought   for  a  man   who   Avas  boast- 
ing   himself   in    his    peculiar    goodness.      As   if 
that  was  not   enough,  he  was  reminded  that  it 
was  not  very  essential   that  he  should  live ;  for 
there   was   a   farmer's   boy    following    the    oxen 
along   the   plains   of  Abel-meholah,    who   would 
be  ready  to  stand  in  his  place  and   take  up  his 
work ;    so    that   for   the   world  it  mattered   very 
little   whether   Elijah   lived  or  not.     How  much 
there   was    to   make    this    man    find    his   place ; 
not  to  take  away  anything  which  he  had  wrought 
or   anything   from   his   willingness  to  do,  but  to 
bring  him   to   the   level  of  other  men,  until  he 
found   in   his   own   heart    that  which   the  Scrip- 
ture  has   been  frank   enough   to    write  concern- 
ing him,  that  "  Elijah  was  a  man  subject  to  like 
passions  as  we  are,"  so  that  he  needed  the  same 
discipline   that   he   might    keep   the   faith.     But 
Elijah    lived,   went   to    Beersheba,   left  his   ser- 
vant behind   him,   plunged  into   the   wilderness 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  H 

and    there    laid   him     down    in    his    despair   and 
prayed   that   he   might   die.      Then   there    came 
that  which  God  so  often  gives,  and  which  works 
so    wonderfully   for   our    relief,   a   good    night's 
sleep.     It  is  marvellous  how  the  still,  dark  hours 
of  the  night  will  clear  one's  thoughts  and  bring 
him    to   his   place ;    how  often    the    dejection    of 
evening   is   banished  when    the   sun   rises  ;    how 
many   mysteries    and    uncertainties    have    flown 
when    the    day   comes    back    again.     Elijah    lay 
down    to   sleep   and   found   that    truth  which   is 
written  in   the    Psalm,  that    God   giveth   to   his 
beloved  while  they  sleep.     He  gave  to  this  man, 
for  Elijah  was  his  beloved.     As  he  slept  the  angel 
touched    him  and    spoke   to    him,  and  when   he 
was  aAvake  he  fed  him.     Twice  he  touched  him, 
twice  he   roused   him,  and    gave    him  bread  and 
drink,  and  the  man  went  forty  days  and  nights 
on   the  strength  of  this  ministry  of  mercy   and 
of  bread.     We  find    no  more  the    wish   that  he 
might  die,  no  more  the  desire  to  be  rid   of  the 
world,  no  more  of  the  terrible  despondency  which 
made  his  earthly  future  full  of  terror.     He  went 
his  way  to    the  place  where  a   greater   than  he 
had  been  commissioned,  where  Moses  had  found 
God,  where  God  had  found  Moses.     In  the  shad- 
ows and  among  the  very  cliffs  of  Horeb  did  this 
man    w^ait   until   he   should   hear    God ;    and   he 
heard  God.      Men    always  hear  God   when  they 
listen.     He   heard   God,  not   in  the  wind  which 


12  CAMBIUBGE  SEBMONS. 

broke  the  rocks  in  pieces,  not  in  the  earth- 
quake which  shook  the  mountains  to  their  base, 
not  in  the  fire  which  blazed  from  cliff  to  cliff 
and  lighted  up  the  deep  gorges  ;  not  in  these. 
There  had  been  enough  of  tumult,  enough  of 
storm  and  tempest.  They  had  exhausted  their 
power  on  this  man's  heart.  God  came  closer 
to  him,  and  when  he  had  made  quietness  he 
spoke  to  him  in  a  still  small  voice  which  Elijah 
heard.  Now  what  is  Elijah's  complaint?  "I 
only  am  left,  and  they  seek  my  life  to  take  it 
away."  What  is  the  remedy  ?  God  did  that 
which  another  had  purposed  to  do ;  he  took 
the  man's  life  away  ;  not  the  breath  out  of  his 
body,  but  his  life.  He  took  Elijah's  life  up 
into  his  own  hands,  and  Elijah  consented  to 
have  it  taken  up  into  the  hands  of  God.  I  pray 
that  it  may  be  marked,  because  it  is  a  lesson 
in  which  we  need  very  much  to  be  instructed, 
that  God  came  to  this  despondent  man,  not  with 
words  of  mere  comfort,  not  with  that  worn  and 
unsatisfying  solace  which  we  so  often  speak,  not 
weeping  with  him,  not  weeping  over  him  ;  but 
with  that  comfort  wherewith  men  are  comforted 
of  God.  He  came  to  him  with  something  to  do. 
What  did  he  say  to  this  man  who  felt  that  his 
life  Avas  in  peril,  that  he  only  was  left  and  that 
men  were  about  to  take  away  his  life?  He  did 
not  point  him  to  the  glory  which  shall  be  forever ; 
he  did  not  say,  "  Well,  Elijah,  everybody  must 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  13 

die,  and  it  matters  very  little  wlietlier  it  is  to-day 
or  to-moiTO\y,  whether  it  is  in  this  way  or  in 
that."  He  did  not  say,  "  You  have  rendered  a 
very  good  service  ;  you  have  outlived  your  use- 
fulness." He  said  nothing  like  tliat.  O,  men, 
tiiere  is  something  here,  in  the  way  in  which  God 
came  to  Elijah,  that  is  full  of  comfort  and  wis- 
dom for  you  and  me.  For  I  notice  this  :  That 
wlien  God  comforts  a  man,  it  is  very  often  by 
giving  him  work.  He  does  not  content  himself 
with  soothing  and  quieting  men  as  if  they  had  no 
strength  and  were  simply  like  crying  children 
needing  to  be  fondled  and  indulged.  God  re- 
spects the  manhood  of  a  man.  What  does  he 
say  to  Elijah's  complaint —  '^  I,  even  I  only  am 
left,  and  they  seek  my  life  to  take  it  away  ? " 
"  Go,  return  on  thy  way  to  the  wilderness  of 
Damascus  j  and  when  thou  comest,  anoint  Hazael 
to  be  king  over  Syria ;  and  Jehu  the  son  of  Nim- 
shi  shalt  thou  anoint  to  be  king  over  Israel ;  and 
Elisha  the  son  of  Sliaphat  of  Abel-meholali  shalt 
thou  anohit  to  be  prophet  in  thy  room."  That 
was  God's  comfort,  sometliing  to  do.  When  a 
man  is  busy  for  God  he  has  comfort.  Our  de- 
spondent hours  are  the  hours  when  we  are  not  at 
work,  or  not  at  work  for  God.  With  a  man's 
hands  pouring  oil  upon  Hazael  and  Jehu,  and 
dropping  the  mantle  upon  Elisha,  there  is  very 
little  time  to  think  about  Jezebel.  The  calmness 
of  God  comes  to  the  obedient  child  of  God. 


14  CAMBEIDGE  SEBMONS, 

Then  God  took  his  life.  Ifc  is  very  singular 
that  this  man,  who  had  such  a  great  fear  that  his 
life  was  to  be  taken  away,  that  he  was  to  die  a 
death  of  violence,  did  not  die  a  death  of  violence  ; 
did  not  die  any  death,  not  even  on  his  bed. 
There  came  a  chariot  of  fire  and  horses  of  fire 
when  they  were  ready,  and  the  prophet  went  up 
into  the  glory  of  God.  The  Lord  had  sought  his 
life  and  had  taken  it  away.  How  grand  the  con- 
trast is  I  Let  nine  hundred  years  pass  by.  He 
was  in  the  wilderness,  this  prophet  strong  and 
severe,  clothed  in  his  garment  of  camel's  hair, 
feeding  upon  locusts  and  wild  honey,  the  prophet 
of  a  rugged  time  committing  his  way  unto  God. 
Next  you  see  him  at  Hermon,  far  in  the  north. 
This  lonely  man,  who  has  found  Moses  somewhere 
beyond  the  clouds,  comes  down  with  Moses  to  the 
transfiguration  of  the  Lord,  no  longer  stern  in 
spirit,  or  clad  in  coarse  apparel.  These  two 
prophets  of  the  ancient  time  appeared  in  glory 
and  talked  with  the  Lord  "  of  his  decease  which 
he  should  accomplish  at  Jerusalem."  Let  us  mark 
that  the  turning  point  of  Elijah's  life  was  not 
when  he  conquered  the  four  hundred  and  fifty 
prophets  of  Baal,  nor  when  he  ascended  in  a 
chariot  of  fire  into  heaven  ;  the  turning  point  of 
this  man's  life  was  when,  among  the  peaks  of 
Horeb,  he  heard  the  voice  of  God  and  obeyed  it, 
and  putting  his  fears  into  the  cave,  went  down  to 
anoint  Hazael  to  be  king  over  S3^ria,  and  Elisha 


TUE  ONE  LIFE.  15 

to  be  prophet  in  Iiis  room.  It  is  not  strange 
that  ever  afterwards  the  people  were  expecting 
Elijah  to  come  back.  You  find  it  running  all 
through  their  history.  When  Jesus  came,  it  was 
Elijah,  some  said.  Some  declared  that  John  the 
Baptist  was  indeed  Elijah.  The  prophet  so 
stamped  himself  upon  the  minds  and  hearts  of 
the  people  that  they  looked  for  his  return.  If  he 
ever  had  come  —  and  he  did  in  his  time  —  it 
would  have  been  because  in  the  rock  he  heard 
the  voice  of  God  and  did  what  God  told  him  to  do. 

I  have  brought  this  to  your  notice  this 
morning,  not  that  I  may  speak  upon  this 
illustrious  man,  but  because  there  arc  certain 
points  here  which,  so  far  from  being  exceptional, 
are  a  common  heritage  for  us.  I  wish  to  take 
one  or  two  things  out  of  this  man's  life,  that 
we  may  see  how  our  lives  are  to  gather  the 
inspiration    for    which    this    word    is    written. 

These  two  things  are  to  be  noticed,  and' 
they  are  the  points  about  which  all  I  shall 
say  will  arrange  itself;  first,  that  this  man 
had  a  life,  just  one  life,  and  he  had  it  all  to 
himself  there  in  the  mountain.  There  were 
seven  thousand  other  men  who  had  seven 
thousand  other  lives,  but  lie  had  this  life  and 
it  was  all  his  own ;  it  was  all  the  life  he  had. 
It  Avas  worth  a  great  deal  to  him.  lie  justly 
thought  that  it  was  wortli  a  great  deal  to 
the  world,  to  God  ;  and  he  wanted  to  keep  tli:it 


16  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

life  and  make  the  most  of  it.  Then  the  other 
thought  immediately  connected  with  this  is,  that 
he  kept  this  life  and  made  the  most  of  it  by 
finding  God  and  linking  his  life  with  God's  life ; 
his  plan  with  God's  plan.  If  there  are  any  two 
truths  in  the  whole  circle  of  truth  which  may 
be  called  universal,  I  think  they  are  these  :  that 
every  man  has  one  life,  and  that  every  man 
shall  make  the  most  of  that  life  by  joining  it 
with   God's   life   and   God's   thought. 

This  is  true  of  every  one  of  us,  that  every 
man  has  his  life,  one  life,  and  that  life  is  fast 
slipping  away  from  his  grasp.  How  rapidly  it 
is  passing,  year  after  year,  and  day  after  day ! 
How  little  time  it  takes  to  make  the  hair 
white  and  the  step  feeble  !  How  soon  it  comes, 
and  our  friends  begin  to  say  that  we  are  get- 
ting old,  and  a  little  after  we  feel  it  ourselves, 
and  by  and  by  we  give  up  one  thing  and 
another,  and  see  that  life  is  passing  gradually 
away,  until  at  last  they  carry  us  out  and  round 
the  sods  over  us.  Another  thing  is  true.  We 
have  but  this  one  life  and  this  life  is  fast  escaping; 
but  we  are  to  remember  that  this  life  is  the  mak- 
ing of  th^  endless  years  beyond.  I  have  said 
here  a  great  many  times,  that  there  is  but  one 
life,  and  that  time  and  eternity  are  one.  But  I 
wish  this  morning  to  take  up  our  common  method 
of  speech.  Let  us  speak  as  if  life  came  to  a 
great   change    in   that   which   we    call   death. 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  17 

This  life,  or  the  part  of  our  life  this  side  of 
death,  reaehes  forward  into  that  wliicli  is  to  come. 
We  might  expect  this.  It  is  after  the  analogy  of 
nature.  Life  ever}^ where  is  after  this  plan.  In 
the  field  there  is  the  seed  time,  and  after  that 
the  harvest.  Following  that  analogy  which  the 
Scripture  takes  up  and  illustrates  and  enforces, 
this  life  is  the  seedi  time  and  after  it  comes  the 
harvest ;  so  that  clearly  this  life  finds  its  great 
value  as  it  reaches  on  into  the  years  which 
are  before  us.  The  Scripture  teaches  us  in  many 
places,  that  for  the  deeds  we  are  doing  here  in 
the  body  we  shall  give  account  when  we  stand  at 
the  judgment  seat  of  Christ.  There  is  one  other 
thing  at  this  point :  that  life  is  not  merely  a  sys- 
tem of  existence,  a  series  of  days  and  nights 
flowing  the  one  into  the  other,  but  that  it  comes 
to  us  with  a  certain  menfiiing,  a  character  of  its 
own.  One  word  must  be  taken  as  the  expres- 
sion of  this  meaning.  The  true  character  of  life 
is  well  summed  up  in  the  word  duty  :  it  is  that 
which  we  express  by  our  word  ought  —  what 
men  ouo-ht  to  do.  Dutv  is  the  meaninor  of 
life.  The  reason  you  live  is  that  3'ou  have 
duty.  Do  your  duty  and  you  are  following 
the  law  of  your  life ;  neglect  your  duty  and 
you  are  wasting  your  life.  So  that  a  man  finds 
this  which  joins  him  to  himself,  and  to  In's 
fellow-men,  so  far  as  his  dut}-  touches  them,  and 


18        '  CAMBRIDGE  SER3I0NS. 

by  this  word  duty,  or  ouglit,  joins  himself  to 
God  from  whom  the  duty  has  come. 

I  am  bringing  you  not  a  lesson  of  death,  but 
a  lesson  of  life.  I  want  to  have  the  great  les- 
son not  something  v/hich  shall  make  us  afraid 
of  the  end,  but  that  which  shall  make  us  calm 
in  view  of  the  end,  as  we  look  upon  any  great 
work  which  is  required  of  us  and  are  not 
afraid  of  it  because  we  know  that  we  are  equal 
to  it.  We  should  take  up  life  in  this  hearty  way, 
and  think  of  it  as  somethino^  which  we  are  wise 
enough  to  receive  and  manly  enough  to  use  even 
to  its  great  fulfilmemt. 

This  word  of  the  prophet  at  Horeb  describes 
in  its  two  parts  the  position  of  every  one  of 
us.  We  ma}^  see  where  he  is,  and  what  he  feels. 
He  is  alone  in  the  mountain,  he  and  his  life 
together,  and  he  feels  tliis :  "  I  am  the  only 
one  to  take  care  of  my  life.  I  have  no 
brother  to  care  for  it.  I  have  no  servant 
here  to  defend  it.  There  is  no  prophet,  there 
is  nobody  in  all  Israel,  who  feels  as  I  do,  or 
cares  whether  I  live  or  not.  I  stand  alone, 
keeping  my  life.  That  is,  in  some  measure, 
the  position  of  every  one  of  us.  We  are  alone. 
We  have  our  kindred,  we  have  our  neighbors 
and  our  friends  ;  but  every  one  stands  by  him- 
self, he  and  his  life  together.  Every  one  besides, 
of    the   hundreds   now  in  this  house,   might   die 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  19 

before  noon,  and  you  live,  my  friend.  They  all 
miglit  be  happy  and  you  sad ;  they  all  might 
be  sad  and  you  happy ;  they  all  might  be  riglit 
and  you  wrong;  they  all  might  be  wrong  and 
you  right;  God  might  approve  every  one  of  them 
and  not  you.  God  might  be  pleased  with  you 
and  with  no  one  besides.  Thus  separate  does  a 
man  stand,  with  his  own  body,  with  his  own  breath, 
with  his  own  duty,  with  his  own  need,  with  his 
own  record  on  high  and  the  destiny  which  follows 
the  opening  of  the  book.  This  is  a  commonplace 
truth,  yet  it  may  serve  us  well.  Once  for  all 
we  have  a  chance  to  live.  The  eternal  j^ears 
are  committed  to  us,  with  one  opportunity,  ex- 
tended by  God's  grace,  to  see  if  we  will  do 
God's  will ;  and  if  that  gracious  opportunity 
is  lost,  there  is  no  return.  The  cold  waves 
rush  in  upon  the  gray  rocks,  and  break  against 
them,  whoever   lives,    whoever    dies, — 

But  the  tender  grace  of  a  day  that  is  dead 
Will  never  come  back  to  me. 

Then    there  is   the   other   point.     '*  They  seek 

my   life    to    take    it    away."     One   woman   mad 

and     revengeful,     sought     the     prophet's     life. 

How  easy   it   was   to    flee   from    her   to    Horeb ! 

But    a    thousand    seek    our    life ;     there    is    no 

Horeb    where    we   may   shield   ourselves.     There 

is    no   wilderness    into    which    we*  may   plunge 

and   escape  from — not  Jezebel   from    whom    we 

could   hide,   but    that   which  wc    call    death.     It 


20  CAMBRIDGE  SEllMONS. 

follows  us  everywhere  ;  there  is  no  escape  for 
"US ;  the  law  of  nature  is  pronounced ;  the 
forces  of  the  world  are  working  against  us ; 
our  powers  are  becoming  enfeebled ;  steadily 
we  are  growing  old ;  with  steady  step  we  are 
approaching  that  last  hour.  The  powers  of  nature 
and  the  ordinance  of  God  are  seeking  our  life 
to  take  it  away.  Brethren,  there  is  no  help 
for  us.  The  archers  are  ready,  the  bows  are 
drawn,  the  shaft  is  pointed ;  it  is  certain  that 
they  who  are  seeking  our  life  will  presently 
take  it  away.  I  ask  thai  these  things  may 
be  accepted  not  as  terrors,  but  as  simple  veri- 
ties upon  which  we  are  to  fashion  our  lives. 
What   shall   we    do,    then  ? 

Some  have  said  "  If  this  be  so,  let  us  eat 
and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die."  Others 
throw  tl:iemselves  upon  despair  and  say,  "  What 
is  the  use  of  living  ?  "  One  often  brings  up  that 
satire  in  theory,  though  seldom  in  practice, 
"  What  is  the  use  of  my  saving  money  ?  I 
cannot  carry  it  with  me  into  another  world. 
I  must  die  penniless,  like  the  beggar.  What  is  the 
use  of  my  trying  to  get  any  position  ?  I  have  no 
sooner  gained  it  than  I  am  dead.  What  is 
the  use  of  my  trying  to  enjoy  life?  What  matters 
it?  Presently  it  will  all  be  over,  and  I  shall 
go  away  with  my  empty  hands.  More  than  I 
have  gained  I  must  leave.  You  tell  me  that  I 
ought  to  be  industrious  and  prudent  and  saving : 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  21 

will  you  tell  me  what  is  the  use  of  my  heap- 
ing up  treasure  knowing  not  who  shall  gather 
it,  or  trying  to  be  anything,  or  clo  anything 
in  the  world  which  to-morrow  may  forget  that 
I  ever  lived? 

The  sadilest  grave 

That  ever  tears  kept  green  must  sink  at  last 
Unto  the  common  level  of  the  world ; 
Then  o'er  it  runs  a  road. 

What  is  the  use?"  I  think  there  is  much  to  be 
said  on  the  side  of  the  old  preacher  who  had  been 
a  common  man  and  a  king,  and  had  touched  life 
on  every  side,  and  who  wrote,  "  Vanity  of  vani- 
ties, all  is  vanity." 

But  the  Scripture  comes  to  us  with  quite 
a  different  lesson  from  that,  and  it  speaks  to 
us  after  this  wise :  "  You  are  to-morrow  to 
die ;  be  very  careful,  therefore,  what  you  eat 
and  drink.  You  are  to-morrow  to  go  out  of 
the  world :  be  very  careful,  therefore,  what 
you  do  while  you  are  in  the  world.  To-mor- 
row you  are  to  give  account  of  that  which  you 
are  doing  here :  therefore  be  very  careful,  and 
as  this  is  the  only  life,  the  only  opportu- 
nity, guard  its  moments  well.  Treasure  them; 
let  not  life  run  to  waste ;  let  not  any  part  of 
life  run  to  waste.  It  is  all  the  life  you  have  ; 
it  is  hurrying  away ;  guard  it ;  watch  it  day 
and  night ;  watch  it  at  every  point,  for  it  is 
your    onl}^   life,  and   the}'   are    seeking    to    take 


22  CAMBBIDGE  SEBMONS. 

it  away."  It  is  in  view  of  these  truths  that  the 
grandeur  of  life  comes  in.  You  will  notice 
this ;  that  a  great  man's  life  is  great  in  some 
emergency,  at  some  special  point,  or  in  the 
presence  of  a  great  work.  A  man  who  simply 
goes  on  his  way  and  does  easy  things  passably 
well,  and  is  reasonably  content,  is  not  One  who 
really  masters  the  world.  There  comes  to  every 
one  of  us  in  our  different  places,  and  in  different 
degrees  according  to  our  strength,  some  times 
when  we  must  concentrate  all  we  have  upon 
one  issue.  And  it  is  in  this  solitary  oppor- 
tunity that  the  force  of  our  life  comes  out,  and 
we  put  our  manhood  to  the  proof,  and  settle 
it  with  ourselves  whether  we  are  able  and 
willing  to  live. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  it  comes  to  us  now;  if 
you  feel  that  you  have  here  many  years,  and  that 
at  any  time  you  can  recover  the  past,  and  gather 
up  your  life  and  make  up  for  lost  time,  jou 
will  never  do  very  much.  The  meaning  of  all 
this  is,  that  you  are  standing  at  a  critical  point. 
This  may  be  the  turning  point  of  the  battle.  Lose 
Waterloo,  and  it  is  St.  Helena.  Fail  in  this  enter- 
prise, and  it  is  bankruptcy.  Be  broken  down  in 
this  work,  and  it  is  defeat.  Let  this  one  life  fail, 
and  it  is  all  over,  it  is  all  gone.  There  is  no 
second  chance.  Life  will  never  come  back.  You 
stand  alone  with  your  life.  That  supreme  moment 
comes   when   you    must   determine   whether  you 


TUE  ONE  LIFE.  23 

cau  face  the  one  occasion,  and  in  one  life  win 
eternity.  It  calls  for  all  your  reason,  and  all 
your  conscience,  and  all  3'Our  strength.  If  a  man 
is  a  man,  he  gains  the  day  as  Elijah  did.  If  he 
is  careless  and  weak,  he  drifts  though  life  until 
he  drifts  to  the  judgment  of  the  ages  that  are 
to  come. 

We  are  inconsistent.  Our  views  of  life  do 
not  accord  with  our  practices  in  life.  Thus 
Ave  say  very  truly  that  the  most  valuable 
thing  we  have  is  our  life.  "Millions  of  money 
for  an  inch  of  time," — it  w^as  not  one  woman 
only  who  said  that ;  ten  thousand  men  and  women 
have  said  it.  Part  with  everything  rather  than 
die  —  of  course  everything  but  honor.  It  was 
a  remark  of  one  who  knew  men  well,  because 
he  had  searched  them  out  in  malice  and  cunnino- 
who  had  gone  up  and  down  the  earth  with 
his  shrewd,  envious  ca'cs,  when  he  brought  his 
testimony  and  laid  it  before  God  — ''  All  that  a 
man  hath  will  he  give  for  his  life."  And  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when  he  wished  to  express  the 
greatest  thing  which  a  man  would  do,  said: 
"  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this :  that  a 
man  lay  down  his  life."  That  is  tlie  value  of 
life ;  and  wlien  Jesus  wanted  to  speak  of  that 
great  gift  of  his  own,  he  could  find  no  better 
Avord  than  that,  and  said:  ''I  give  unto  them 
eternal  life."  We  value  life  because  we  enjoy 
it,  and  are  in  the  habit  of  esteeming  it  highly, 


24  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

and  hope  for  future  good,  and  because  there  is  a 
dread  of  the  unknown.  It  is  a  part  of  our 
character  that  there  should  be  this  shrinking  from 
the  thought  of  change.  A  good  old  man  once 
said  to  me,  "I  am  not  afraid  of  being  dead, 
but  I  am  afraid  of  d3^ing."  So  it  comes  about 
in  many  waj^s  that  we  think,  and  think  truly, 
that  nothing  which  we  have  is  so  valuable  as 
life.  Now  see  the  inconsistenc}^  What  do 
we  do  with  life?  This  best  thing  very  many 
utterly  waste.  They  never  think  upon  its  value, 
or  upon  its  meaning,  or  upon  what  they  are  to 
do  with  it.  They  simply  let  the  whole  of  it 
run  away :  it  goes  to  waste.  Still  more  marked 
is  the  wasting  of  parts  of  it.  To  think  of  wasting 
one  of  these  invaluable  days,  one  hour  of  the  few 
and  fleeting  hours  of  life,  when  we  have  not 
fortune  enough  in  all  our  house  to  buy  back 
a  single  moment!  We  let  the  moments  go  as 
if  we  had  them  in  plenty,  or  could  get  all  w^e 
want  in  the  market-place.  We  part  the  most 
easily  with  that  which  we  value  most,  and 
which   never   can   be   recovered. 

It  was  a  most  expressive  illustration  of  the 
matchless  English  preacher,  that  men  suffer  life 
to  slip  through  their  hands  as  water  slij)S  through 
a  marble  fountain.  He  drew  a  picture  of  the 
marble  image  you  have  so  often  seen  at  the 
fountain,  standing  "  steadfast,  serene,  immova- 
ble,"  with   the   water   flowing   through   its    lips. 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  .  25 

It  flows  and  flows,  and  the  marble  never  thinks 
that  it  is  flowing,  never  seeks  to  check  it,  never 
seeks  to  govern  it.  It  flows  on,  and  the  marble 
hands  never  can  take  it  back.  So,  he  saj^s  — 
and  how  trul}',  how  forcibly  —  we  stand  and  let 
oar  time  slip  away.  An  hour  and  an  hour,  a 
day  and  a  day,  a  year,  and  ten  years,  and 
twenty  years,  and  fifty  j^ears,  and  sevent}^  3"ears, 
slip  through  the  marble  image  Avhich  is  a  marble 
image  still.  Is  not  that  true  ?  Where  is  your 
yesterday?  Did  you  clutch  every  moment  as 
it  came  ?  Did  you  hold  it  as  it  sought  to 
get  away  from  you,  making  sure  you  had  the 
whole  of  it,  and  that  it  was  serving  you  well  ? 
AVhat  has  become  of  your  years  ?  Have  they  gone 
as  the  water  through  the  marble  lips  ?  Let  me 
change  the  illustration,  and  say  that  life  should 
come  to  LIS  and  pass  from  us  as  life  comes  to 
the  growing  grain  which,  springing  from  the  seed, 
reaches  up  and  takes  every  moment,  takes  every 
breath  of  air,  all  the  sunshine  and  rain,  all  the 
dewdrops,  covetous,  eager,  watching  all  the  day 
and  sleeping  never  at  night,  putting  out  its 
hands  everywhere,  that  it  may  draw  in  out  of 
time  all  the  merit  of  time  that  the  husband- 
man may  reap  the  golden  grain  Avhich  shall 
reward  his  pains.  Life  comes  to  us  somewhat 
in  that  wa}-,  to  be  taken  up  into  our  thoughts, 
made  a  part  of  ourselves,  and  put  to  those  high 
uses  wherein  it  may  serve  us  forever. 


26  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMOMS. 

What  shall  I  say,  then?  Allow  me  to  say 
these  things !  AVhat  shall  I  do  in  life,  seeing 
that  I  have  but  one  life,  and  they  are  seek- 
ing that  to  take  it  away  ?  I  will  do  these  three 
things  : 

First  I  will  find  the  meaning  of  life.  Life 
is  more  than  a  stream  of  water,  or  a  stream  of 
moments.  Conscience  and  life  belong  together. 
What  is  my  life  to-day  in  its  relation  to  my  con- 
science ?  I  am  here  with  all  my  powers.  What 
does  life  mean  as  it  touches  my  powers  ?  I  am 
here  among  my  fellow-men.  What  does  my  life 
mean  in  its  relations  to  my  fellow-men?  I  am 
here  before  God  and  his  judgment.  What  does 
life  mean  in  its  relation  to  God  and  the  judgment? 
I  must  find  what  it  is,  what  is  in  it,  what  is 
the  intent  of  it,  what  is  the  use  to  be  made  of  it. 
I  must  know  the  meaning  of  my  years.  I  may 
have  no  opinion  about  currency,  about  law,  about 
anything  else  ;  but  the  one  thing  which  I  must 
know  is,  what  it  means  to  me  that  I  am  living 
to-dayj  and  that  these  hours  are  slipping  through 
my  hands. 

Secondly^  I  must  take  life  up  and  put  it  to 
those  uses  wherein  it  serves  me  best.  There 
comes  that  serious  moment  which  finds  us  all, 
yet  is  not  improved  by  us  all,  when  a  man  makes 
choice  of  that  which  he  will  do  in  life ;  when 
he  chooses,  as  we  say,  his  profession.  Some  men 
choose  their  profession  ;  I  believe  in  many  cases 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  27 

the  professions  choose  the  men.  There  are  some 
men  Avho  are  larger  than  life  and  greater  than 
the  world,  who  say,  "I  will  not  ask  the  world 
what  it  will  let  me  do  ;  I  will  ask  mj'self,  I  will 
ask  God,  what  I  am  made  for,  and  I  will  choose 
my  work  according  to  my  will  and  the  will  of 
God."  It  is  a  serious  moment  when  a  man  makes 
up  his  mind  whether  his  seventy  years  shall  be 
spent  here  or  abroad,  whether  in  getting  or  giv- 
ing ;  whetlier  in  getting  a  living  or  in  making 
other  people  live ;  whether  they  shall  be  used  in 
the  service  of  self,  or  shall  be  spent  in  the  service 
of  God.  It  becomes  a  weighty  matter,  and  the 
Avise  man  must  determine  for  himself  what  he 
shall  do  with  the  grand  current  of  his  life  and 
with  special  parts  of  it.  What  shall  I  do  to- 
day? These  hours  are  winged,  and  are  moving 
forward.  These  moments  of  your  time  which 
I  am  now  occupying  never  will  return.  I  feel 
the  responsibility ;  perhaps  you  do.  We  must 
make  something  out  of  this  hour.  Do  not  be 
marble  statues  and  let  this  Sunday  forenoon  run 
through  your  hands.  Lay  hold  of  it.  Take  it 
and  use  it.  And,  then,  look  on  with  life.  We  do 
not  make  the  most  of  our  college  life,  for  instance, 
if  we  think  that  the  day  of  graduation  is  all  there 
is.  We  are  stud3dng  for  the  future,  reaching 
on,  perliaps  with  definite  plans,  perhaps  with  gen- 
eral plans ;  but  still  with  the  future  in  our 
mind.     All  our  life  is  to  go  forward  beyond  this 


2§  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS. 

graduation  into  the  endless  j^ears.  So  Christ 
teaches  us.  Lay  up  your  treasure  in  heaven, 
he  says.  "  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant 
to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne."  ''  In  my  Father's 
house  are  many  mansions.  I  will  come  again 
and  receive  you  unto  myself." 

There    comes    finally   this   other   thought,  that 
what  we  are  to  do  really  in  this  one  life  of  ours 
is    to   find   God,  or   let  God  find  us.     I  wish  to 
say  a  word  to  the  little    children  who    are  here. 
It   is   too   simple  for  anybody  else    to   listen   to. 
Will  the  otliers  think  of  what   I  have  said  while 
I  say  this  word  to  the  children  ?     That  man  who 
knows  best  what  a  watch  is  good  for  is  the  man 
who  made  it,  and  the  one  who  knows  best  what 
a  life  is  good  for  is  the  One  who  made   it.     God 
made  your  life.     God  gives  you  your  time,  your 
thought.     What  you  ought  to  do  God  knows  best. 
Do  you   want  to  know  what    to  think,   what  to 
choose,  and  how  to  make  the  most  out  of  j^our 
years  ?     Do   you   want    to    know   what    you    are 
made  for?     Well,  ask  the  Maker.     Ask  God.     He 
will  tell  you  what  he  wants  you  to  be,  what  he 
meant   when    he    gave    you   this   life,   and   what 
he  will  have  you  do  with  it.     Oh,  God  is  so  good  ! 
He  likes  to  take  us  by  the  hand,   and  say,  "My 
dear  boy  ;  I  want   you   to  do   this."     When    God 
teaches  us,  then  we  get  very  wise,  and  when  God 
helps  us  we  are  strong,  and  when  God    keeps  us 
we   are   safe. 


THE  ONE  LIFE.  29 

I  ask,  then,  all  who  are  not  too  old  to  be 
children,  to  come  to  God  and  find  the  mean- 
ing of  life,  and  the  strength  to  live  it.  You 
will  hear  a  voice  calling  you ;  it  will  not  be 
in  the  wind  which  moves  along  the  streets, 
and  bears  the  wisdom  of  this  world ;  it  will  not 
be  in  the  earthquake,  which  seems  to  shake 
society  ;  it  will  not  be  in  the  fires  which  men 
are  kindling  on  the  hill-tops.  Tlie  voice  of  God 
comes  to  us,  still,  small,  reaching  our  heart,  and 
then  whisperiug  steadily,  always  the  same  word, 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God;  thou  shalt 
do  the  things  which  are  pleasing  in  his  sight." 
Over  against  this  oneness  of  our  life  stands 
the  oneness  of  our  God ;  and  over  against  this 
singular,  solitary  responsibility  stands  the  singu- 
lar grace  of  God.  Our  thoughts  are  not  to  be 
divided,  our  trust  is  not  to  be  parted.  There 
is  only  one  name  under  heaven  given  among 
men  whereby  we  can  be  saved.  There  is  only 
one  law  for  our  life,  only  one  duty ;  there  is 
only  one  Saviour.  We  need  not  waste  a  mo- 
ment choosing  between  God  and  Mammon,  be- 
tween Christ  and  the  world,  between  Christ  and 
ourselves.  Life  is  too  hurried,  life  is  too  pre- 
cious for  us  to  have  two  Redeemers  between 
whom  our  wandering  thoughts  must  roam.  We 
have  one  God,  one  life,  one  Saviour,  one  Judge, 
one  eternity.  Among  these  special  and  singular 
days   do  we  make   up   our    thoughts  and  plans; 


30  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

and  when  we  commit  our  life  to  God,  he  takes 
our  purposes  into  his  purposes  ;  he  takes  our  life 
into  his  keeping  and  guides  us  by  his  counsel. 
I  hear  this  morning  the  moving  of  the 
chariot  wheels  of  God,  the  chariot  of  fire  and 
tlie  horses  of  fire.  They  are  coming  this  way. 
They  stopped  in  the  last  week  at  one  of  our 
homes,  and  a  saintly  spirit  went  up  into  the  rest 
of  God.  The  chariot  of  fire  and  the  horses  of 
fire,  they  will  stop  at  the  door  of  the  men 
who  love  God  and  have  used  this  one  life 
worthily,  and  he  who  is  ready  shall  ascend 
into  the  chariot  and  rise  into  the  city  of  God 
which  is  forever,  unto  the  everlasting  youth, 
into  the  eternal  years  ;  for  God  has  taken  his 
life  that  he  may  give  it  to  him  in  the  glories  of 
immortalitv. 


II. 

WHO  LOVED  ME. 


Scripture  Lesson  :  Romans  viii :  14-39. 

Text  :    Who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me.       Galatians, 
ii  :  20. 

THERE  was  an  apostle  who  delighted  to  speak 
of  himself  as  "  that  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved."  It  was  not  that  man  who  wrote  the  words 
which  have  now  been  read  to  you.  Yet  quite  as 
much  as  his  brother  did  St.  Paul  exult  in  the  love 
which  Christ  had  for  him.  Indeed,  these  words 
are  a  better  expression  of  love  than  those  which 
are  used  by  the  beloved  disciple.  St.  John  seems 
almost  to  shut  out  others ;  "  that  disciple,"  he  says, 
as  if  there  were  no  others  whom  Jesus  loved. 
This  apostle  is  broader  in  his  thought.  He  draws 
in  the  love  of  God  to  himself;  he  feels  how  much 
more  it  is  to  him  than  it  is  to  the  world  ;  he  takes 
it  to  himself  as  if  he  stood  alone  ;  yet  he  does  not 
shut  out  the  world  from  the  affection  which  Christ 
offers  to  all  for  Avliom  he  gives  himself.  The 
words  of  St.  Paul  arc  broader,  again,  in  that  they 


32  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS. 

contain  the  metliod  in  wlucli  this  love  of  Christ 
manifests  itself.  When  St.  John  called  himself 
"  that  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,"  or  at  the 
period  in  which  he  jjlaces  those  words,  the  great 
manifestation  of  the  love  of  Christ  had  not 
been  made.  When  St.  Paul  wrote,  Christ  had 
given  himself  to  the  cross,  and  the  love  had  mani- 
fested itself  in  its  own  way.  Therefore  he  wrote 
more  fully  as  he  rejoiced  to  v/rite,  "  Who  loved  me 
and  gave  himself  for  me."  Indeed,  the  expres- 
sions which  St.  Paul  uses  touching  the  love  of 
Christ  are  all  of  the  strongest  character.  Pie 
finds  words  insufficient  as  he  rises  into  the  vast 
regions  which  are  beyond  language,  and  beyond 
thought  even.  Thus,  in  his  mind,  the  love  of 
Christ  while  it  is  something  to  be  known,  ''  pass- 
eth  knowledg;e,"  and  reaches  infinitely  far  away. 
Again,  this  love  of  Christ  which  comes  to  him 
is  not  something  which  touches  his  life,  and  with 
which  he  has  no  communion ;  but  it  is  something 
to  which  his  own  heart  is  so  bound  that  it  is  not 
possible  for  anything  in  this  world,  or  in  any 
world,  to  part  the  two  asunder.  Again,  tliis  love 
which  Christ  gives  to  him  is  a  love  wliich  not  only 
brings  him  the  victory,  but,  going  beyond  that, 
bestows  more  than  the  victory,  for,  "  we  are  more 
than  conquerors  through  him  that  loved  us." 
And  again,  this  love  which  Christ  has  for  him  is 
not  only  a  love  which  incites  liim  to  good  deeds, 
and  inclines  him  to  do  those  tilings  which  please 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  33 

Christ,  but  it  comes  with  its  constraining  and 
compelling  force,  until  he  feels  himself  taken 
in  hand  by  a  strong  power,  and  carried  on  to  that 
which  Christ  requires  of  him.  We  have  but  to 
read  these  thoughts  wherewith  St.  Paul  expands 
the  love  of  Christ,  this  sentence  in  which  he 
declares  that  Christ  loved  him,  to  find  how  marvel- 
lous is  this  conception,  how  profoundly  it  is  settled 
in  his  soul,  and  how  wonderfully  it  is  governing 
his  life. 

If  we  ask  when  it  was  that  this  love  was  given 
to  him,  the  thought  rises  yet  more  in  our  minds 
as  we  remember  that  this  love  of  Christ  was  before 
Christ  died  for  him,  and  when  this  apostle  was  not 
his  friend.  The  man  was  indifferent  to  him  ;  the 
indifference  grew  into  hostility ;  the  hostility  broke 
into  violence  of  the  most  cruel  and  relentless  kind. 
Yet  Christ  gave  himself  for  one  who  did  not  love 
him,  and  continued  to  give  himself,  and  give  his 
affection,  when  St.  Paul  had  become  the  violent 
persecutor.  We  find  this  affection  coming  to  him, 
and  working  out  for  him  this  help  through  the 
cross,  at  a  time  when,  if  we  are  to  trust  our  own 
thoughts,  he  might  be  reached  in  some  other  way. 
For  St.  Paul  was  an  honest  and  amiable  man, 
an  upright  man,  and  a  religious  man  after  the  cus- 
tom of  his  fathers,  and  very  devout  and  very 
scrupulous  in  his  religion;  and  it  was  when  he 
was  religious,  and  when  he  was  honest,  that 
Christ  loved  him  and  gave  himself  for  him.     His 


34  CAMBRIDGE  SEEMONS. 

life  had  turned  aside;  he  was  misunderstanding 
Christ.  What  was  needed  more  than  that  the 
Spirit  should  come  to  him  and  inform  him  in  a 
quiet  way  who  Christ  was,  and,  working  within  the 
recesses  of  his  soul,  turn  his  thoughts  towards 
Christ,  and  his  life  into  the  service  of  Christ? 
We  are  somewhat  startled  when  we  find  that  the 
want  of  this  religious  man  is  not  met  but  by  the 
Christ ;  that  the  want  of  this  upright  man  is  not 
met  by  any  instruction  or  any  spiritual  power,  but 
only  by  the  compassion  of  Christ  who  loved  him. 
"  I,  who  am  careful  in  my  religion  beyond  all 
men  —  a  Hebrew  of  the  Hebrews  —  I  claim  this 
mercy  of  the  Christ,  who,  that  he  might  save  me, 
loved  me  and  gave  himself  for  me." 

I  think  we  can  make  a  creed  out  of  these  words, 
and  a  very  large  creed,  and  a  very  deep  and  rich 
creed,  whose  articles  might  run  somewhat  in  this 
way :  I  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  is 
strong  enough  to  give  himself  for  me.  I  believe 
in  my  necessity  that  the  Son  of  God  should  give 
himself  for  me.  I  believe  in  the  love  of  Christ 
which  impelled  him  to  give  himself  for  me.  I 
believe  in  a  godly  life  which  can  be  lived  by  the 
faith  of  the  Son  of  God  "  who  loved  me  and  gave 
himself  for  me."  I  believe  in  a  destiny  of  everlast- 
ing wealth  and  eternal  blessedness  which  will  be 
given  to  me  for  the  sake  of  him  ''who  loved  me  and 
gave  himself  for  me."  How  large  a  confession  it 
is;   how  profound   an  utterance  of  his   acknowl- 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  35 

edgraent!  What  an  expression  of  his  reverence, 
of  his  faith,  of  his  contrition,  of  his  hope,  of  his 
rejoicing  !  The  Avhole  expansion  of  his  thought, 
the  whole  love  of  Christ,  is  condensed  into  this  sin- 
gle sentence  which  spreads  before  us  like  the  light  of 
heaven,  "  Who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me." 

It  was  very  natural  that  the  working  out  of  this 
principle  in  the  mind  of  the  apostle  should  be 
what  it  was.  Even  without  reading  his  history 
we  know  what  must  come  of  this  v/hich  he  has 
here  told  us.  These  three  things  must  come, 
certainly. 

It  must  come  to  pass,  first,  that  he  will  love  the 
one  who  has  loved  him  and  given  himself  for  him. 
There  is  but  one  thinc^  which  the  lovinfT  heart  is 
content  with  giving,  and  that  is  love.  There  is  but 
one  thing  which  the  loving  heart  is  content  to 
receive,  and  that  is  love.  It  is  an  absurdity  to  offer 
an^^thing  less  :  it  is  an  injustice  to  receive  anything 
less.  Even  in  our  common  relationships  here  there 
is  but  one  thing  Avhich  matches  love,  and  that  is 
love.  A  marriaire  between  love  on  the  one  hand 
and  money  on  the  other  is  an  abomination  in  the 
sight  of  God  and  man.  Friendship  which  is  between 
affection  on  the  one  hand  and  service  on  the  other 
is  a  mockery  and  a  shame.  Piety  which  is 
between  God's  love  on  the  one  hand  and  a  man's 
regard  for  the  commandments  on  the  other  is  not 
rational;  is  not  acceptable  to  the  man's  conscience, 
and  is  not  received  in  the  court  of  Heaven.     But 


36  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

one  thing  fits  to  love ;  but  one  thing  contents 
love,  either  in  the  receiving  or  in  the  giving,  and 
that  is  love  itself.  It  is  not  until  one  comes  to 
give  this  answer  that  he  is  very  deeply  conscious 
of  that  to  which  he  is  making  his  response.  I 
suppose  the  reason  that  St.  John  applies  to  him- 
self the  words  which,  so  far  as  we  have  any  record, 
no  one  else  applied  to  him,  ''  that  disciple  whom 
Jesus  loved,"  was  that  he  had  a  constant  convic- 
tion that  he  was  that  disciple  who  loved  Jesus. 
How  much  Peter  loved  he  did  not  know;  how 
much  Andrew  and  Thomas  loved  he  could  not 
tell ;  but  he  knew  by  every  beating  of  his  heart, 
by  all  the  force  of  his  thought  and  his  love,  tliat 
he  loved  Christ,  and  by  that  token  he  knew  that 
he  was  the  disciple  whom  Jesus  loved.  For  it  is 
inevitable  when  this  man  comes  into  the  conscious- 
ness that  Christ  loves  him,  that  his  love  should 
flow  out  as  nothing  else  could  draw  it;  that  he 
should  know  there  is  nothing  less  that  he  can  give  ; 
there  is  nothing  less  that  Christ  will  receive. 

Then  there  will  come  from  this,  in  the  second 
place,  a  trusting.  It  is  impossible  that  one  should 
know  Christ  and  love  him  without  trusting  him, 
because  he  seeks  to  be  depended  upon  according 
to  that  which  he  comes  to  do,  and  that  which  he 
promises  to  do,  and  that  which  we  need  to  have 
him  do.  We  cannot  feel  that  he  will  fail  us. 
The  teaching  of  the  apostle  comes  with  force, 
and  always  awakens  one   response :     '^  God  who 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  37 

gave  his  Son  for  us  will  give  us  everything  that 
we  need.  Christ  who  gives  himself  for  us  will  not 
withhold  anything  we  need.  It  is  enough  that  he 
beholds  the  necessity.  Even  there  our  Lord  him- 
self lel't  it:  "Your  Father  knoweth;"  that  is 
enough.  Your  Father  loveth;  that  is  enough. 
Therefore  the  man  trusts  him  for  the  present  and 
for  the  future.  It  is  out  of  this  consciousness  of  a 
common  love  that  he  comes  into  that  sublime 
confidence :  "  I  know  whom  I  have  believed." 
Well,  what  is  he,  who  is  he  ?  Who  is  this  whom 
you  believe  ?  ''I  believe  in  him  who  loved  me 
and  gave  himself  for  me ;  and  I  know  that  I  shall 
receive  a  crown  of  righteousness  in  that  day,  for 
he  who  will  give  me  the  crown  has  already  given 
me  himself.''  He  knows  there  can  be  no  wasting 
of  this  love.  Feeling  within  that  his  love  for  Christ 
can  never  change,  he  is  yet  more  persuaded  that 
the  love  of  Christ  can  never  change.  Indeed,  he 
might  write  out  his  own  thought  in  the  words  of 
that  Enorlish  woman  who  has  suno^  so  well  of  the 
permanence  of  the  love  of  Christ,  the  continuance 
of  his  affection  for  us  : 

"Oh,  never  is  Loved  OXCE, 

Thy  word,  thou  Victim-Christ,  misprized  friend; 
Thy  cross  and  curse  may  rend; 

But  having  loved,  Thou  lovest  to  the  end !  " 

And  he  would  make  answer,  still  in  the  words  of 
this  sweet  singer : 


38  CAMBllIBGE  SERMONS, 

*'  Those  never  loved, 

"Who  dream  that  they  loved  once." 

I  think  that  by  all  which  is  true  in  the  sacred 
affections  of  our  hearts,  we  believe  that  if  there  is 
anything  about  us  which  will  last,  it  is  our  love 
for  that  which  is  lovely.  The  old  doctrine,  so 
pleasant  even  in  the  sound  of  its  words,  of  the 
perseverance  of  the  saints  is  nothing  but  the 
doctrine  of  the  permanence  of  love.  As  long  as 
Christ's  love  is  true  and  fresh,  they  who  love  him 
once  love  him  forever.  You  ask  tlie  assurance 
that  we  shall  enjoy  his  presence  forever :  it  is 
that  we  love  him  here  to-day.  I  know  that  it  seems 
sometimes  as  if  love  had  passed  away.  It  may  be 
because  it  never  existed;  it  was  a  mere  emotion 
not  worthy  of  that  God-word,  love.  It  may  be 
that  it  is  merely  obscured,  as  sometimes  that 
which  is  recent  comes  in  to  cover  that  which  is 
dearer  to  our  hearts.  Still,  tlie  singer  is  true,  and 
the  Christ  is  true,  and  your  hearts  are  true: 
"  Those  never  loved  who  dream  that  they  loved 
once."  They  who  feel  within  them  the  assurance 
of  an  unchanging  love  for  Christ  need  no  argu- 
ment to  prove  to  them  the  unchanging  love  of 
Christ  for  them ;  and  npon  that  they  rest  their 
hope  in  quiet  trust. 

Then  there  follows  a  third  thing,  of  course,  and 
that  is,  the  pleasing  Christ.  For  the  love  at  once 
seeks  to  do  that  which  will  gratify  the  one  who 
is  loved,    recognizing  this  out  of  its    own    expe- 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  39 

rience,  that  there  is  nothing  so  exacting  as  love; 
that  we  always  demand  the  most  of  those  we  love 
the  best;  that  wc  are  always  the  most  solicitous 
for  the  welfare  of  those  who  are  dearest  to  us. 
You  are  more  anxious  that  your  child  should  do 
his  best  than  that  my  child  should  do  his  best. 
You  always  hold  up  the  highest  standard  before 
liim  who  is  nearest  to  you,  and  expect  from  him 
the  most  truthfulness,  the  most  kindness,  and  the 
most  devotion.  Yet  on  the  other  hand  there  is  noth- 
ing so  small,  if  it  be  heartily  given,  that  it  is  not  dear 
to  you  —  the  flower  which  your  child  has  picked 
from  the  wayside,  the  bright  stone  which  he  brings 
in  out  of  the  road,  the  simple  utterance  of  his  affec- 
tion, the  simple  clasping  of  his  arms  about  your 
neck.  There  is  nothing  too  small  for  love  to  take, 
there  is  nothing  too  great  for  love  to  ask.  One 
who  knows  this,  finding  it  in  the  love  of  Christ  for 
him  and  his  love  for  Christ,  at  once  feels  that 
nothing  can  be  too  great  tliat  he  shall  do ;  that  he 
can  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of 
the  knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  his  Lord,  and  count 
all  things  easy  which  shall  please  him  wlio  pleased 
not  himself. 

The  apostle  has  come  here  upon  the  law  of 
life.  The  one  principle  of  life  is  stated  in  the 
strong  and  precious  words  before  us.  First, 
this  is  in  God's  life,  for  God  is  love.  God  is  more 
than  love  ;  God  is  light  also.  God's  love  is  not 
centred  and  restrained  within  his  own  heart;    it 


40  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

must  go  out,  or  it  is  not  love ;  it  must  give  itself, 
or  it  is  not  love.     He  is  not  content  with  living 
and  moving  eternally  in  the  sphere    of  his  own 
affection,  but  his  love  must  reach  out  to  men,  to 
every  one  who  lives.     Hence,  if  God  loves  men  he 
must  go  out  to  men ;    he  must  meet  them  where 
they  are ;  he  must  meet  them  in  their  necessities 
and  do  for  them  what   love  requires.     If  at  any 
time  it  becomes  necessary,  he  must  put  himself  in 
sacrifice  for  men.     I  wish  that  we  might  see  the 
marvellous  reaching  out  of  this  simple  truth.     It 
was  the  fine  saying  of  a  man  whom  we  all  delight 
to  honor,  who  never  stood  with  more  majesty  than 
when  recently  among  missionaries  and  the  friends 
of  missions   he    declared    the   sufficiency   of   the 
love   of   God,  and  uttered   that   sentence   which 
might  well   be    committed   to   our  memory  as    a 
fact   of  history  and   a   prophecy  for  all  that   is 
to    be.     "  Christianity   proclaims,"   he    said,    "  in 
three  words,  of  one    syllable  each,  the  grandest 
discovery  ever   made,    the    sublimest   truth   ever 
uttered."     There  are  but  three  words  in  the  lan- 
guage which  answer  that  description.     There  are 
but  three  words  in  the  Bible  which  can  come  to 
your  minds  in  that  connection  —  the  grand,  divine, 
eternal   truth  that  "'  God  is  love."     It  is  God's 
love  that  is  his  life.     Take  it  away,  and  you  have 
taken  away  so  much  from  God ;  you  have  taken 
God  from  God.     The  principle  of  God's  life  within 
himself,  the   principle  of  God's  life   among  the 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  41 

angels  and  among  men,  is  the  principle  of  a  love 
which  goes  out  and  finds  men,  and  blesses  them 
according  to  their  need.  Hence,  if  one  asks  in 
Gethsemane  why  it  is  not  possible  that  the  sac- 
rifice may  pass  away,  there  is  but  one  answer.  If 
it  is  a  matter  of  will,  it  can  pass  away.  Why  can- 
not the  cup  pass  unless  it  be  drained  by  the 
Christ?  Simply  because  those  whom  God  loves 
need  to  have  it  drained.  Love  will  stop  at  noth- 
ing. If  men  can  be  blessed  by  seeing  the  grapes 
upon  the  vine,  let  it  be  so ;  if  they  can  be  blessed 
with  maxims  of  ethics  and  philosophy,  let  it  be 
so.  The  time  has  come  when  those  whom  God 
loves  can  only  be  blessed  in  that  cup ;  therefore  it 
is  not  possible  that  the  cup  should  pass  away  until 
it  has  been  drained.  And  the  reason  it  is  not  pos- 
sible is,  that  God  is  love. 

We  come  again  upon  this  principle  of  life 
in  our  Lord.  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  here  in  the 
world  as  the  embodiment  of  the  thought ;  "  God 
so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  only-begotten 
Son."  Christ  so  loved  the  world  that  he  came  into 
it,  and  went  about  with  ministries  of  mercy,  until  at 
last  he  stretched  out  his  hands  upon  the  cross,  lov- 
ing men  and  giving  himself  for  men.  Take  away 
the  love  from  Christ  and  what  have  you  left  ? 
Possibly  the  teaching,  perhaps  the  purity  of  his 
life  ;  perhaps  an  example  white  as  marble,  and 
moral  maxims  cold  as  snowflakes  and  as  little 
nourishing  to   the   heart.     The   one  thing  which 


42  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

makes  Christ  clear  to  you,  the  Saviour,  the  Com- 
forter, the  Plelper,  is  that  the  life  of  Christ  is  love. 
Hence,  obviously,  when  you  come  to  the  Chris- 
tian life  the  principle  is  the  same.     There  is  but  one 
life  in  Heaven  and  in  earth,  and  that  is  God's  life. 
The  life  that  we  live  in  the  flesh  is  the  life  of  God 
in  us  ;  and  when  we  come  to  the  Christian  life,  it 
is  the  life  of  Christ.     There  never   was  but  one 
Christian  life,  and  that  is  Christ's  life.     I  will  not 
play  Avith  words.     If  one  chooses  to  say  that  this 
is  a  Christian  nation,  and  that  men  can  be  Chris- 
tians though  they  do  not  believe  in  Christ,  very 
well.      They  are  not  the  Christians   of  the  New 
Testament.     You  know  the  testimony  of  the  poor 
Chinaman  at  the  West  who  found  himself  abused, 
insulted  in  the  streets,  beaten  and  stoned,  and  who 
wrote  back  the  piteous  tale  in  his  simplicity :  "The 
men  who  did  it  are  Christians,  but  they  are  not 
Jesus-Christians."      Now  the   only  "Jesus-Chris- 
'  tians "  in  the  world  are  the  Christians  in  whom 
Jesus  is.     It  is  only  as  Christ  is  in  us  that  we  are 
Christians ;  it  is  only  as  Christ's  life  is  in  us  that 
we  have  the  Christian  life.     Even  as  it  flowed  out 
from  the  hands  and  the  lips  and  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
of  Nazareth  must  it  flow  out  in  our  lives,  in  all 
that  we  do  and  in  all  that  we  are,  as  we  go  our 
way  through  the  world.     It  comes  to  take  us  up 
and   control   us   and  exalt  us   forever  —  the  one 
Christian   life.      I    can    come    to    Christ  as   the 
greatest  of  teachers  and  sit  calmly  down  to  receive 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  _        43 

his  instructions  ;  I  can  come  to  him  and  mark  the 
purit}'  and  simplicity  of  his  example ;  I  can  follow 
him  until  I  am  attracted  by  the  charity  and  benev- 
olence of  his  spirit;  but  I  have  not  found  the 
Christ.  No  man  whose  heart  was  ever  full  of 
the  love  of  Christ  was  content  to  say,  "  Who 
loved  me  and  taught  me  the  Sermon  on  the 
Mount ;  "  "  Who  loved  me  and  healed  the  sick  and 
raised  the  dead ; "  "  Who  loved  men  and  taught 
them  by  a  holy  example  tliat  he  could  do  what 
they  could  never  do."  No  Christian  heart  talks 
in  this  way.  It  is  the  heart  far  away  from  him 
which  says  it ;  it  is  the  Christian,  perhaps,  but  it  is 
not  the  "'  Jesus-Christian."  "  Thou  shalt  call  his 
name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  teach  men  to  pay  their 
debts,"  —  who  said  it  ?  Never  tlie  Christ,  never 
the  disciple,  never  the  man  whom  Jesus  loved. 
"  Tliou  shalt  call  his  name  Jesus,  for  he  shall  save 
his  people  from  their  sins."  Now  we  know  what 
St.  Paul  means:  "Who  loved  me  and  gave  "  — 
not  his  words,  not  his  miracles,  —  "  who  gave  him- 
self for  me."  I  gather  up  his  teachings  and  all 
which  is  matchless  and  precious  in  his  life,  in  this 
one  gift ;  for  when  I  have  my  friend,  I  have  my 
friend's  house,  I  have  his  words,  I  have  his  ex- 
ample, I  have  liis  love  ;  I  get  all  when  I  get  him  ; 
I  get  everything  which  any  one  else  gets,  and  I 
get  more  when  I  get  the  Christ  v/ho  gave  him- 
self. Taking  himself  in  his  hands,  he  gave  him- 
self over  to  me  and   became  mine,  my  own,  my 


44  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

own  Saviour.  I  do  not  believe  that  I  shall  ever 
learn,  even  from  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount,  the 
spirit  which  will  make  mQ  kneel  down  before  my 
Judas  and  wash  his  feet.  If  ever  in  God's  grace  I 
become  able  to  do  that,  it  will  be  because  there 
stands  before  me  the  Christ  girded  with  a  towel, 
and  with  a  basin  of  water  in  his  hands,  and  love 
in  his  heart.  I  do  not  believe  that  I  can  ever  go  in 
self-forgetful  devotion  through  the  world  because 
I  know  that  Christ  fed  the  multitudes  and  taught 
sweet  lessons  of  charity.  I  do  not  believe  that  I 
can  ever  lose  my  life  for  Christ's  sake  while  I  content 
myself  with  gathering  up  his  parables  and  taking 
their  blessed  lessons  to  my  heart.  But  at  the 
cross  there  is  this  spirit ;  in  the  cross  I  seek  it ; 
from  the  cross  I  take  it.  "I  can  do  all  things," 
do  you  say,  "  for  I  know  that  Christ  stilled  the 
tempest  on  the  sea  of  Galilee,  and  I  know  that  he 
said  we  should  render  unto  Ciesar  the  things  that  are 
Caesar's,  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's  ?  " 
Oh  !  do  it  if  you  can.  If  I  am  ever  able,  I  believe 
if  you  are  ever  able,  to  make  up  a  Christian  life 
in  the  world,  it  will  be  under  the  constraint  of 
that  word  which  this  man  wrote  :  "  I  can  do  all 
things  through  Christ,"  "  who  loved  me  and  give 
himself  for  me." 

I  think  we  have  found  many  instances  besides 
those  which  are  recorded  in  Holy  Scripture 
where  this  principle  rules.  We  need  not  go  out 
of  our  own  homes  to  find  the  controlling  power  of 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  45 

love,  if  not  the  freshness  and  the  strength  of  it ;  the 
love  which   makes   a  man  toil  unto  old   age  for 
those   whom  he  loves ;    which   makes   a   mother 
watch  through   the  weary  nights,  nor  mark  the 
hours,  for  those  she  loves ;  the  pure  sparks  from 
the  glowing  heart  of  God's  affection.     If  we  look 
at  those  who  have  stood  out  with   marked  lives 
of  usefulness  and  devotion,  we  find  this  principle. 
That  missionary  mother  separating  from  her  chil- 
dren on  a  foreign  shore,  sending  them  away  from 
her  home  that  they  might  receive  the  nurture  of 
her  native  land,  and  as  the  boat  pushes  out  which 
is  never  to  come   back,  lifting  up  her   heart   to 
say,  "  I  do  this  for  thee,  Jesus,"  has  a  love  like  the 
love  of  Christ ;    "  I  do  this  for  thee,   Jesus,  for 
thou  hast  left  thy  Father's  house  for  me,"  that  is 
her   thought.      Then   there    are    those    words   of 
that   noble   man  who   wrote   to   his    children    in 
England,  out  of  the  heart  of  Africa,  "  Tell  them  I 
have  left  them  for  the  love   of  Jesus,   and  they 
must  love   him   too."     Hear  his  cr}^,  "  O  divine 
Love,  I   have   not   loved   Thee  strongly,  deeply, 
warmly  enough."    "  O  Jesus,  fill  me  with  Thy  love 
ngw,  and,  I  beseech  Thee,  accept  me,  and  use  mo 
a  little  for  Thy  glory."      There  is  but  one  force 
which   can    do    this ;     there   is   but   one    power 
which   bears    men   into    tliis    divine    usefulness; 
and  the  power  lies  within  this  brief  sentence  :  "I 
do  this  for  him  who  loved  me  and  gave  himself  for 
me." 


46  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS, 

Friends,  the  lesson  for  every  one  of  us  is  tins 
—  not  for  those  without  the  Church  more  than  for 
those  within  the  Church  ;  it  is  the  great  lesson  for 
all  men  :  —  that  if  we  are  to  live  the  life  which 
is  worthy  of  us,  it  must  be  as  we  receive  the' 
life  of  the  Christ,  and  the  Christ  at  his  best. 
When  your  life  moving  up  blends  with  his  life, 
when  the  love  of  Christ  comes  into  your  heart 
to  take  possession  of  it,  there  can  be  but  one 
result.  It  will  save  you,  for  Christ  gives  him- 
self to  save  sinners ;  it  will  bring  you  up  into  the 
Christly  life,  for  Christ  comes,  the  vine,  to  give  his 
life  unto  the  branches ;  it  will  govern  your 
thoughts,  your  purposes,  jomy  steps  ;  it  will  exalt 
your  life  and  sanctify  and  glorify  your  spirit ;  it 
will  bring  you  at  last  into  that  grand  fulfilment 
which  the  beloved  disciple  saw  and  could  not  de- 
scribe :  ''  We  shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is."  Whosoever  sees  Christ  as  he  is, 
sees  Christ  loving  him  and  giving  himself  for  him. 
Oh!  see  it,  friends;  look  until  you  see  it;  look 
until  the  sun  goes  down ;  look  until  the  morning 
comes ;  wait,  gaze,  look,  look  with  longing  eyes 
until  you  see  it !  When  that  thought  becomes 
your  thought,  when  it  takes  hold  upon  you  as 
a  part  of  your  life,  then  will  God  be  glorified  in 
you,  and  you  will  live  in  the  faith  of  the  Son  of 
God  who  loved  you  and  gave  himself  for  you. 

Let  me  turn  as  I  close  to  the  teaching  of  Christ 
himself — uttered   not   in    Syriac    syllables,    nor 


WHO  LOVED  ME.  47 

in  English  sentences,  which  \\q  might  not  nnder- 
stancl,  and  whose  power  and  beauty  we  might  not 
perceive  —  the  words  of  Christ  spoken  in  this 
body  of  Christ  which  is  here  set  forth  again  before 
us.  There  is  Christ.  Do  you  want  to  come  close 
to  him?  You  will  find  him  there.  He  said  that 
we  must  eat  his  flesh  to  have  life  ;  we  must  drink 
his  blood  to  have  life ;  we  have  not  seen  him 
until  we  have  seen  him  on  the  cross ;  v/e  have  not 
found  his  love  until  we  have  found  his  love  cruci- 
fying itself;  we  have  not  entered  into  his  grace 
until  liis  pierced  hands  have  held  us  against  the 
bosom  of  his  divine,  redeeming  love. 

They  sa}^  sometimes  in  Scotland,  in  their  quaint 
phrase,  that  the  Lord's  table  is  "  fenced."  You 
do  not  see  the  fence  hero;  there  is  none  —  not  a 
wall,  not  a  door  open  or  shut.  There  is  but  one 
guard  around  that  table  :  a  circle  of  light  stream- 
ing out  from  the  bread  and  from  the  wine,  a  circle  of 
light  around  it,  made  of  these  divine  words :  "  Who 
loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me."  You  nnist 
not  think  to  step  over  it,  to  pass  under  it,  to  re- 
move it.  You  draw  near,  and  stooping  down,  you 
lift  it  in  your  hands,  you  hold  it  to  your  heart, 
and  thus  you  come  to  the  Lord's  table,  Avhich  is 
the  table  of  your  Saviour,  and  he  gives  you  to  eat 
and  drink  with  him.  There  is  no  fence  about  the 
Church.  On  its  threshold  lies  a  single  line :  ''  Wlio 
loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for  me."  Take  it  up 
in  your  hands  and  hold  it  in  your  heart  and  the 


48  CAMBRIDGE  SEEMONS. 

Church  is  open.  The  door  of  Heaven  is  always 
open.  Across  the  threshold  of  Heaven  there  lies 
one  line  of  light.  You  take  it  into  your  life  and 
pass  on  with  it  to  the  throne,  carrying  it  in  your 
rejoicing,  "Who  loved  me,  and  gave  himself  for 
me." 

Oh,  dearly,  dearly  has  he  loved. 

And  we  must  love  him  too, 
And  trust  in  his  redeeming  blood, 

And  try  his  works  to  do. 


III. 

CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE. 


Scripture  Lesson  :  S.  Matt,  vii :  13-29. 

Text:    Choose  you  this  day  whom  ye  will  serve."      JosJnca 
xxiv :  15. 

I  MUST  ask  you  to  read  the  last  two  chapters 
of  this  Book  of  Joshua,  to  recall  to  your 
minds  the  circumstances  under  which  these  words 
were  spoken.  Joshua  was  an  old  man ;  his  life  as 
a  chieftain  and  a  statesman  was  about  to  end. 
He  was  giving-  liis  last  words  to  the  people.  He 
did  not  cany  them  througli  the  details  of  the  life 
which  they  were  to  live ;  he  did  not  give  them 
commandments  arranged  in  systematic  order;  he 
brought  them  rather  to  one  point  where  they 
were  to  stand,  and,  standing  there,  or  moving 
from  that  point  towards  God,  they  were  to  make 
up  their  life.  He  did  not  mean  that  they  were  to 
choose  between  one  God  and  another,  although 
the  form  of  his  words  mig^ht  suc^crest  that.  He 
knew  there  was  not  a  man  among  them  who 
would  choose  the  gods  of  the  Amorites,  or  the 
gods   en  the  other  side  of  the  river,  instead  of 

49 


50  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

Jehovah.  What  he  did  was  to  state  in  a  strong 
way  their  duty  and  privilege ;  that  they  should 
choose  as  he  had  done ;  that  they  should  choose 
the  Lord  to  be  their  God.  Moses  had  been 
placed  in  somewhat  similar  circumstances  on  the 
day  of  the  worship  of  the  golden  calf,  when, 
standing  before  the  people,  he  cried  Avith  a  voice 
of  indignation  and  reverence,  ''  Who  is  on  the 
Lord's  side?  Let  him  come  unto  me."  Later 
than  this,  in  the  days  of  Baal,  Elijah  cried  with 
the  same  spirit:  "How  long  halt  ye  between  two 
opinions  ?     If  the  Lord  be  God,  follow  him." 

It  is  evident  that  this  mode  of  presenting  the 
claim  which  God  makes  upon  us  is  somewhat  dif- 
ferefit  from  that  in  which  it  is  usually  presented. 
This  form  of  words  has  very  much  passed  out  of 
use,  and  the  thought  which  lies  within  the  words 
has  been  in  a  measure  superseded.  We  are  not 
saying  to-day,  "  Choose  you  whom  ye  will  serve ;  " 
we  are  saying,  "  choose  you  whom  ye  will  trust." 
We  have  passed  over  from  this  idea  of  a  life 
which  is  to  be  lived  for  God  to  a  life  in  which  God 
is  to  take  us  up  and  carry  us  on,  promising  us 
Heaven,  alluring  us  with  pleasures  all  the  way,  and 
indulging  our  wishes  at  every  point,  if  so  be,  in 
our  condescension,  we  will  consent  to  be  saved.  I 
think  that  it  is  for  lack  of  the  strong  element  which 
the  Scriptures  always  present,  that  it  is  man's 
duty  to  obey  God,  our  piety  has  fallen  so  much 
upon  inefficiency ;    that  it  lacks  nerve;  that  even 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  51 

our  belief  of  the  truth  grows  feeble  and  our  obedi- 
ence of  the  truth  feebler  ;  that  our  devotion  to 
God  is  an  uncertain  thing,  and  our  service  ahnost 
as  variable  as  our  states  of  mind.  We  need  to 
have  breathed  into  our  thoughts  a  feeling  of  duty ; 
a  sense  of  something  which  we  must  do  ;  of  a  life 
which  we  are  to  live.  I  gather  it  all  up  into  this 
saying  of  the  old  Hebrew  statesman  in  which  we 
are  called  upon  to  choose  whom  we  will  serve  ;  to 
choose  God  and  to  serve  him  continually. 

While  the  thought  of  trusting  Christ  and  the 
offers  of  his  grace  appear  so  much  in  the  New 
Testament,  this  thought  of  serving  God  is  the 
underlying  principle  throughout.  Our  Lord 
never,  in  all  his  offer  of  rest  and  peace  and  mercj', 
lost  sight  of  this.  What  was  his  most  common 
idea  of  that  life  into  which  he  called  men  ?  It  was 
life  in  a  kingdom.  "  The  kingdom  of  God,"  "The 
kingdom  of  heaven,"  were  his  common  phrases. 
Men  are  to  live  under  the  eye  of  a  king  and  to 
obey  him  to  the  end.  So,  when  he  presented  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  with  all  its  delights  under  the 
image  of  a  marriage  feast,  it  was  not  a  feast 
spread  by  the  wayside  where  men  were  working  ; 
it  was  not  a  table  laid  in  the  thickets  where  they 
might  be  reclining;  it  was  a  feast  within  the  gates 
of  the  king's  house.  If  any  man  ate  of  the  feast, 
he  came  up  out  of  the  highways,  passed  through  the 
door,  entered  into  the  place  where  the  table  was 
spread,  and  there    took   his   place.     Christ  knew 


52  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

nothing  of  any  joy  for  a  man  ontsicle  of  the  king's 
house.  So  it  was  with  the  parable  of  the  prodigal 
son,  in  which  our  Lord  did  not  promise  certain 
joys  to  be  had  by  remaining  in  the  "  far  coun- 
try ; "  he  did  not  teacli  that  there  were  for  this 
wretch  a  robe,  and  a  ring,  and  a  kiss,  and  a  fatted 
calf,  and  all  the  blessings  of  life,  while  he  was  by 
his  own  act  an  exile  and  wanderer,  or  that  there 
was  one  of  them  anywhere  but  where  his  father 
was.  If  he  was  to  be  blessed  as  he  wished,  he 
must  go  home,  and  within  his  father's  house' 
he  would  find  what  was  there  alone  —  his  father's 
blessing  and  his  grace.  Indeed,  the  whole  thought 
of  the  redemption  of  Christ  rests  upon  this. 
The  cross  of  Christ  springs  indeed  out  of  God's- 
love,  but  it  holds  fast  to  this  idea  of  the  obedience 
of  the  soul  to  God.  Christ  bids  men  leave  their 
boats  and  follow  him — leave  their  lives  and 
follow  him.  The  order  of  events  is  like 
this :  First,  God  and  his  will ;  then  men  obeying 
God's  will  and  living  in  happiness  and  holiness  : 
then  men  breaking  Avith  God's  will  and  passing 
into  sinfulness  ;  then  God  coming  to  ransom  men 
out  of  this  state  of  sin  and  misery,  and  to  bring 
them  back  into  the  state  in  which  they  were 
before,  establishing  them  again  in  integrity  that 
they  might  have  the  blessing  of  God.  If  we  view 
this  life,  as  we  sometimes  do,  as  a  road,  men  have 
stepped  off  the  road  and  wandered  away  from 
it.     When  God  comes  to  them  he  does  not  point 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  53 

to  a  newpiitli,  or  make  a  new  highway  for  them  ; 
he  brmgs  them  back  into  the  old  road,  that,  walking 
thereon,  they  may  go  to  the  end  to  which  they 
would  have  gone  if  they  liad  never  turned  away. 
Tiiis  truth  of  obedience  is  in  entire  harmony  with 
the  tender  thoughts  applied  to  God.  If  we  speak 
of  God  as  love,  we  have  asserted  the  strongest  of 
all  reasons  why  we  should  serve  him.  If  w^e 
call  God  our  father,  we  have  declared  at  once  the 
very  reason  why  we  ought  to  obey  him  and 
seek  his  pleasure  in  all  things.  If  we  speak  of  the 
love  we  have  for  God,  we  have  declared  the  very 
principle  Avhich  will  make  us  do  his  will.  The 
soul  of  obedience  is  love,  and  the  body  of  love 
is  obedience. 

Passing  from  these  primary  considerations,  let 
us  notice  a  few  things.  In  the  first  place,  this  : 
that  the  law  of  God,  which  is  given  to  us  to  be 
obeyed,  is  the  expression  of  the  nature  of  God. 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  the  law  of 
God  and  the  law  of  men.  The  law  of  God  is  a 
necessary  law  ;  it  is  simply  his  own  nature  opening 
itself  out.  It  may  very  well  happen,  that  a  king 
may  come  to  the  throne  and  find  the  constitution 
and  legislation  all  prepared.  He  may  not  like  the 
constitution,  but  he  must  administer  it ;  he  may 
not  approve  the  laws,  but  he  must  administer 
the  laws.  He  is  held  to  this  althouc^h  his  own  life 
and  his  own  spirit  may  be  at  variance  with  the 
laws  all  the  way  through.     It  is  not  at  all  so  with 


54  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

Gocl.  God  is  before  all  constitutions  and  all 
statutes  and  all  principles  of  life ;  and  these  prin- 
ciples are  but  the  expression  of  himself.  God  is 
love  :  God's  love  utters  itself.  God  is  holiness ; 
this  holiness  makes  itself  known  in  holy  desires 
and  holy  commandments  for  the  children  of  men. 
It  is  very  much  like  the  sun  and  its  light.  The 
sun  gives  light  because  it  is  the  sun;  it  is  the 
nature  of  it  to  shine ;  and  God  gives  command- 
ments because  it  is  his  nature  to  give  them.  Do 
you  not,  even  as  earthly  fathers  and  mothers,  tell 
your  children  what  you  know  they  ought  to 
do?  That  is  a  little  of  the  same  principle  which 
makes  God  tell  you  and  me  what  we  ought  to  do, 
because  this  is  the  right  thing  to  do  ;  because  this 
is  the  pleasant  thing  to  do;  because  this  is  the 
profitable  thing  to  do,  but  above  all  because  this 
is  the  right  thing  to  do.  So  long  as  God  is 
God  he  must  tell  us  what  to  do  ;  so  long  as  God  is 
hol}^  he  will  tell  us  holy  things  to  do  ;  so  long  as 
he  is  God,  we  ought  to  do  those  things  which 
he  gives  us  to  do.  Indeed,  it  is  simply  out  of  the 
question  that  we  should  have  God  without  having 
his  commandments.  To  return  to  the  figure  of 
the  sun,  you  do  not  get  the  benefit  of  the  sun  un- 
less you  get  its  light.  Without  that  the  orb  yonder 
in  the  heavens  is  little  to  you.  They  have  been 
reckoning  up  its  distance,  whether  it  be  ninety- 
two  or  ninety-five  millions  of  miles  away.  It 
might  be  a  million  times  further  than  it  is ;   it  is 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  55 

nothing  to  you,  unless  it  gives  you  something  and 
you  tiike  that  something.  It  is  little  to  you  that 
there  is  a  God  yonder,  unless  something  comes 
down  from  liim  so  that  you  can  take  hold  of  it ;  un- 
less his  law  comes  down,  and  you  know  what  to  do ; 
unless  his  strength  comes  down,  and  you  are  able 
to  do  it.  Without  the  gift,  it  is  to  small  purpose 
that  yonder  shines  the  sun,  or  yonder  reigns 
the  God.  God  gives  these  laws  which  are  a  part 
of  himself.  He  speaks,  and  it  is  commandment ; 
he  looks,  and  it  is  statute  ;  he  wishes,  and  it 
is  law ;  he  brings  his  great  desires  and  counsels 
among  men  that  we  may  take  them  and  make  our 
life  out  of  them.  It  is  simply  God  out  of  his  own 
nature  breathing  his  nature,  as  the  perfume  comes 
from  the  flower,  as  light  comes  from  the  sun, 
as  fruit  comes  from  the  tree,  as  goodness  comes 
from  the  good,  breathing  his  own  nature  in  com- 
mandments down  among  the  children  of  men. 
"  Choose  you,"  says  this  old  Hebrew  statesman, 
"  choose  you  to  take  the  light  of  the  sun ;  choose 
you  to  take  the  fruit  of  the  tree  ;  choose  you 
to  take  the  nature  of  God  which  along  these  lines 
of  light  comes  down  to  3'Ou  for  your  guidance  and 
your  comfort."  It  is  not  meant,  again  let  me  say, 
that  we  should  choose  between  God  and  another. 
I  suppose  that  to  none  of  us  does  this  choice 
present  itself  to-day  in  any  tangible  shape.  How- 
ever men  may  reason  it  out,  whatever  we  may  say 
in   our   homilies   and  exhortations,  I   presume  it 


56  CAMBBIDGE  SEE^WNS. 

is  not  true  of  any  one  here  to-day  that  he  has 
chosen  deliberately  to  serve  any  one  except  God. 
He  may  be  serving  some  one  else,  but  that  ever  he 
has  said  to  any  one  else  in  heaven  or  earth, 
''  Thou  art  my  God  and  I  will  serve  thee,"  is  not 
to  be  believed.  Yet  it  may  come  to  pass  prac- 
tically that  a  man  does  serve  another.  We  are 
not  to  consider  here  the  relative  value  of  this 
or  that  which  he  serves.  My  only  interest  to-day, 
brethren,  is  to  beg  you  to  choose  God  and  to  serve 
him.  Whether  it  be  Baal,  or  Ashtaroth,  or  the 
gods  of  the  Amorites,  is  comparatively  a  small 
matter.  Take  any  one  according  to  your  fancy, 
if  from  among  these  you  are  to  make  your  choice. 
But  with  all  earnestness  I  pray  you  to  choose  the 
only  one  whose  right  it  is  to  reign ;  the  only  one 
whom  you  have  a  right  to  serve. 

The  choice  of  a  principle  and  method  of  life 
may  be  made  by  a  natural  and  simple  process.  I 
may  consult  simply  my  own  pleasure.  I  may  say, 
''  I  will  do  those  things  which  I  wish  to  do." 
I  am  very  likely  to  do  this  carelessly,  floating  on 
from  day  to  day,  planning  to-day  Avhat  I  want 
to  do  to-day,  waking  to-morrow  morning  and 
planning  again  what  I  want  to  do  in  that  day. 
In  all  I  stand  up  as  the  object  of  my  own  thought 
and  care.  I  may  do  this  wilfully,  or  I  may  do  it 
without  a  conscious  volition. 

I  may  choose  to  do  what  other  men  wish  to  have 
me  do  ;   I  may  do  this  deliberately,  or  I  may  do  it 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  57 

out  of  an  easy  good  nature  which  tries  from  liour 
to  hour  to  j)lease  my  friends.  I  may  choose  to 
do  Avhat  others  are  doing;  I  may  do  this  delib- 
erately, or  I  may  do  it  by  that  force  of  imitation 
which  makes  me,  in  my  amiability,  follow  in 
the  steps  of  others.  I  may  combine  these.  On 
some  days  I  may  serve  myself  and  on  some  my 
fellows.  I  may  vary  these  methods,  or  unite  them 
into  one,  so  that  I  can  hardly  tell  whether  I 
am  living  for  myself  or  for  humanity.  There 
are  many  varieties  of  this  idolatry.  Against  all  of 
them  stands  out  the  one  who  alone  is  God,  and 
the  exhortation  of  the  preacher  is,  "  Choose  the 
Lord  God  and  serve  him." 

When  a  man  has  done  this  it  is  very  evident 
that  he  stands  in  the  way  of  righteousness  and  of 
blessing.  I  have  said  little  thus  far  of  that  which 
we  term  Christianity ;  I  have  said  nothing  about 
coming  to  Christ  to  be  saved.  Yet  I  wish  to 
recall  this  single  point,  and  I  pray  that  this 
may  be  noticed  now,  before  we  pass  to  anything 
else.  Choose  God,  Jehovah,  the  maker  of  heaven 
and  earth,  your  maker,  jonr  father  ;  choose  him 
and  serve  him.  Determine  with  yourself  this : 
"  Whatever  God  asks,  whatever  is  his  command- 
ment, I  will  obe3\  Heaven  and  earth  may  pass 
away,  I  will  be  true  to  this.  Come  sunshine  or 
storm,  come  wealth  or  poverty,  come  life  or  death, 
I  will  be  true  to  God."  They  said  to  Napoleon 
when  he  was  before  a  certain  castle,  "Sire,  if  you 


68  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS.  . 

attempt  to  take  this  castle  it  will  cost  you  tlie 
lives  of  ten  thousand  men."  "  Then  I  will  give 
the  lives  of  ten  thousand  men."  So  choose  God. 
Men  will  tell  you  that  it  will  change  jowv  life  : 
very  well.  They  will  tell  3'ou  that  it  will  make 
you  pray :  that  it  will  bring  3^ou  into  the  church  : 
very  well.  If  it  cost  you  ten  thousand  lives,  pay 
them  for  your  own  life  ten  thousand  times  over. 
It  is  this  for  which  I  plead.  Choose  God  always 
to  be  served,  wherever  he  leads,  whatever  he 
forbids,  whatever  he  requires.  The  man  who  shall 
do  this  stands  with  Ids  face  towards  God,  and  with 
his  life  towards  God;  he  stands  in  the  way  in 
which  he  shall  be  blessed.  Very  certain  is  it  that 
God  will  come  to  this  man  ;  that  God's  grace  will 
find  him.  He  may  never  have  heard  of  Christ, 
but  he  will  find  Christ,  or  Christ  will  find  him. 
The  love  of  God  looking  upon  him  wher^  he 
stands,  will  come  flowing  out  of  the  heavens  until 
it  gathers  about  his  feet  and  takes  him  up  and  he 
is  borne  away  on  the  grace  of  Christ.  There  can 
be  nothing  which  will  commend  a  man  more  to 
the  grace  of  God  than  the  single  purpose  to  do  the 
will  of  God.  The  man  who  stands  facing  God 
will  be  found  of  God.  I  believe  the  great  reason 
why  men  do  not  find  God  is  because  they  are  not 
looking  for  him.  They  say,  "I  will  find  his 
mercy;  I  will  find  blessing  at  his  hands;  and  after 
a  time  I  will  determine  to  serve  him  ;  as  if  they 
said,  "  I  will  take  a  voyage  to  Europe  after  I  have 


CnOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  59 

wandered  over  the  mountains  of  Switzerland." 
There  is  but  one  thing  first  in  any  right  life  ; 
there  is  but  one  thing  first  in  any  Christian  career  ; 
and  that  is  to  choose  God  and  pledge  the  life 
to  him.  Then  God  comes  to  help  and  save  the 
man.  The  good  shepherd  seeketli  the  sheep  upon 
the  mountains  to  bring  him  down  to  the  fold.  If 
the  shepherd  be  going  one  way,  and  the  sheep, 
even  with  the  purpose  to  find  the  fold,  be  going 
another  way,  they  may  never  meet.  If  the  shep- 
herd is  seeking  the  sheep,  and  the  sheep  is  seeking 
the  fold,  and  seeking  the  fold  is  going  directly 
towards  the  shepherd,  they  will  meet;  they  are 
sure  to  meet.  If  Christ  goes  out  from  God  to  find 
a  man,  and  the  man  is  coming  towards  God, 
the}^  will  come  together.  Two  trains  going  in 
opposite  directions  on  the  same  track  are  certain 
to  meet.  Christ  coming  from  God  and  man  going 
towards  God  are  sure  to  meet.  Therefore  I 
say,  set  your  face  towards  God  and  you  are  facing 
the  approaching  Christ.  Indeed,  if  we  take 
Christ's  work  itself,  we  find  that  the  object  of  his 
life  in  the  world  was  to  brine:  nien  into  this  obedi- 
ence  to  God.  We  have  not  estimated  his  work  at 
all  correctly  or  thoroughly  unless  we  see  that  tlie 
outcome  of  it  all  was  to  bring  men  to  God.  It  is 
a  thoroughly  false  idea  that  Christ  came  into  the 
world  simply  to  make  men  happy,  or  simplv  to 
put  men  in  one  place  rather  than  another.  Christ 
came   into   the   world  to   bring  men  back  where 


60  CAMBRIDGE  SEEMONS. 

they  always  ought  to  have  been ;  and  he  will 
never  be  content  till  he  has  clone  this ;  and  he 
will  never  have  saved  a  man  until  he  brings 
him  there.  "You  may  throw  yourself  into  the 
water  and  drown,  trying  to  save  a  drowning  man  ; 
but  all  your  pains  go  for  nothing  so  long  as 
the  man  remains  under  the  water.  I  say  it  rever- 
ently, the  Son  of  God  may  die  for  sinners,  but 
so  long  as  men  continue  in  their  sin  he  has  died 
in  vain.  Tiie  redemption  of  Christ  may  be  able 
to  save  men  from  sin  unto  the  uttermost,  but 
so  long  as  men  will  continue  to  sin  they  are 
not  saved.  It  is  only  as  we  come  wdiere  we  are 
right  with  God  that  we  are  saved ;  and  when 
we  are  there,  nothing  can  harm  us.  Do  you  not 
mark  that  the  shepherd  when  he  goes  forth  for 
the  sheep,  and  finds  him  upon  the  mountains,  does 
not  there  pity  him,  weep  over  him,  tearing  his  own 
hands  upon  the  thorns  to  make  a  pretty  little  fold 
for  him,  and  shelter  him  and  feed  him  with  the 
scant  herbage  which  grows  in  that  frigid  clime, 
trying  to  make  the  sheep  happy  there  ?  I  believe 
that  is  the  idea  which  a  great  many  people  have 
of  Christ's  work :  that  he  comes  down  into  this 
poor,  broken  world  and  tries  to  make  us  contented 
here ;  tries  to  take  off  a  little  of  the  cold,  the  sin, 
the  unrighteousness  and  unbelief;  whereas  Christ 
never  stays  upon  the  mountain  longer  than  is 
necessary ;  he  will  not  leave  the  lamb  upon  the 
mountain,  but   take  ]iim   in   liis    arms  or  on   his 


CHOOSE  WnOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  61 

shoulder  and  cany  him  down  into  the  fold,  and 
never  stop  until  he  is  there.  He  is  no  friend 
to  tlie  prodigal,  who,  finding  liim  down  in  the 
"  far  country,"  says,  '*  Oh  !  man,  this  is  a  hard 
life ;  this  feeding  swine  is  unprofitable  ;  I  will 
give  you  a  more  comfortable  situation  near  by  ;  I 
will  give  you  better  wages.  You  are  clothed 
with  rags :  I  will  give  you  good  clothing ;  you  are 
hungry:  I  will  feed  you" — he  is  no  friend  who 
says  that.  The  only  one  who  can  befriend  the 
prodigal  is  he  who  says,  "  Oh  !  man,  come  home. 
No  matter  what  3^ou  do  here  ;  no  matter  how  you 
fare  here ;  no  matter  whether  you  are  in  rags  and 
hungry,  or  not ;  you  are  wretched  ;  you  are  wrong 
here  ;  the  only  kindness  I  can  do  you  is  to  carry 
you  home  to  your  father's  house."  That  is  the 
work  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

I  think  you  know  that  I  believe  in  the  kind- 
ness and  love  of  Christ  for  men ;  but  to  make 
men  contented  in  disobedience  is  not  his  kind- 
ness. To  make  a  man  happy  before  he  has  chosen 
to  serve  God,  it  is  not  right ;  it  is  not  kind.  It 
would  be  almost  working  against  God  liimself 
if  Christ  tried  to  make  us  contented  before  we 
have  chosen  God  that  we  may  serve  him.  If 
Christ  makes  our  homes  happy  witliout  God,  that 
we  may  be  contented  in  tliem  ;  if  he  soothes  our 
sin,  and  takes  off  the  grosser  form  of  it,  so  that 
our  conscience  may  not  trouble  us  ;  he  is  no 
longer   kind,   for    he  is   keeping    us    away-  from 


THSGLOC 


62  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

God;  keeping  ns  still  guilty;  leaving  us  still  lost. 
He  is  not  kind  until,  dying  for  us,  he  takes  us  to 
bring  us  back  to  God.  The  work  of  Christ  is 
that  you  and  I  may  choose  God  and  serve  him. 

What  shall  we  do,  then,  we  who  know  Christ's 
name  to-day  ?  I  have  spoken  of  those  who  might 
come  to  God  not  knowing  Christ.  We  know 
Christ :  what  are  we  to  do  ?  Manifestly,  we  are 
to  use  what  we  know.  If  3^ou  know  where  a  man 
is,  then  act  as  if  you  knew  where  he  is.  There 
are  times  when  you  want  to  find  some  one  and 
you  do  not  know  where  he  is.  You  look  for  him 
in  one  house  and  another,  one  town  and  another, 
one  country  and  another ;  but  if  you  know  where 
the  man  is,  you  go  directly  there.  If  you  do  not 
know  where  God  is,  search  the  heavens  and 
earth  until  3^ou  find  him.  Suppose  you  want  to 
find  what  a  man's  will  is  :  you  conjecture,  you 
inquire,  you  ask  in  vain  in  a  hundred  places ;  but 
if  you  can  find  the  man,  by  asking  him  you 
find  what  his  will  is.  That  is  the  right  thing 
to  do.  We  want  to  come  to  God  using  what  we 
know ;  not  setting  aside  our  knowledge  of  Christ 
and  his  truth;  not  setting  aside  the  Gospel  as  if 
we  were  to  come  to  God  without  the  Gospel.  We 
take  what  we  know.  And  what  do  we  know? 
Wh}^,  we  know  that  God  is  a  great  deal  nearer  to 
us  than  the  stars  are ;  we  know  that  God  is  here 
in  Christ  his  Son  seeking  to  reconcile  us  unto 
himself.     We  want   to   find  God,  we  who  know 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  G3 

Christ.  Then  wliat  shall  we  do?  Why,  "come 
where  God  is  closest  to  us,  and  that  is  in  Christ. 
Find  God  where  he  is.  Suppose  I  want  to  find 
you  at  this  moment,  because  I  have  a  message 
which  I  must  give  to  you  at  once.  Should  I  not 
be  foolish  if  I  should  go  to  your  house  and  call 
for  you  tiiere,  when  I  know  all  the  time  that  you 
are  here?  Should  I  not  be  more  foolish,  if,  try- 
ing to  find  God,  I  pass  away  from  God  when  he 
is  here,  in  Christ  his  Son,  and  look  far  away 
for  him,  wandering  over  the  long  path  and  seek- 
ing him  at  the  distant  door  of  Heaven  ?  We 
shall  find  God  where  he  is  nearest. 

I  Avant  to  know  the  will  of  God  because  I  want 
to  do  it :  where  shall  I  find  it  ?  Christ  declares 
the  will  of  God  and  illustrates  it  in  his  life.  I 
come  to  him  and  learn  it  from  him.  Or,  I  want 
to  find  the  grace  of  God  ;  I  want  to  know  wliether 
I,  who  have  wandered  away,  can  come  back ; 
whether  I,  who  have  done  Avrong,  can  be  forgiven. 
I  ask  the  astronomers  on  their  nightly  watch- 
towers  to  tell  me  what  the  Pleiades  say,  or  what 
is  written  on  the  bands  of  Orion.  Why  should  I 
not  reverence  the  astronomer?  But  Avhat  are  the 
stars  telling  ?  What  can  any  one  say  of  the  grace 
of  God  save  God  himself?  God  comes  with  his 
grace  and  Christ  declares  it,  and  I  come  to  him 
because  he  knows,  and  I  want  to  know,  whether  I 
can  be  forgiven,  and  how  I  can  be  forgiven. 
Knowing    Christ   I    come    to    Christ,   because    in 


64  CAMBBIBGE  SEEMONS. 

Christ  God  is  nearest,  because  in  Christ  God's 
will  is  most  plainly  declared,  because  in  Christ 
alone  God's  grace  is  manifest,  and  finding  him  I 
find  God.  This,  then,  becomes  for  us  who  are 
intelligent  men  to-day,  who  know  of  Christ  and 
have  his  gospel,  the  one  thing  to  do  :  to  choose  to 
serve  God,  and  to  choose  God  who  comes  to  us  in 
Christ,  whose  will  is  declared  by  Christ,  whose 
grace  in  Christ  works  out  our  redemption. 

But  let  me  ask  you  to  notice  again,  that  this 
redemption  in  itself  is  not  the  place  where  we  are 
to  stop.  It  is  to  bear  us  on  to  something  else. 
It  is  not  the  final  stage ;  it  is  not  our  rest ;  it 
carries  us  on  to  something  beyond  it.  Christ  came 
to  bring  men  to  God  ;  and  not  until  he  has  brought 
them  to  God  and  given  them  to  God  —  God's  ran- 
somed children,  who  are  henceforth  to  live  with 
him  and  obey  him  — has  he  done  his  work.  I  know 
that  beautiful  line  of  the  hymn  ;  I  would  not  take 
a  note  from  its  divine  and  blessed  melody.  It  is 
true,  but,  like  most  single  lines,  it  is  but  a  fragment 
of  the  truth  :  — 

Simply  to  thy  cross  I  cling. 

Yes ;  with  the  arms  of  a  clinging  faith.  I  shrink 
from  going  on,  lest  any  one  should  think  I  do  not 
make  enough  of  that  which  is  the  heart  and  life  of 
piety,  the  simple  trust  in  Christ  and  him  crucified. 
But  what  did  Christ  ever  say,  what  did  the  apos- 
tles  ever   teach,  which  warrants   you   in  saying, 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  05 

"  All  I  have  to  do  is  to  cling  to  the  cross  ?  " 
What  did  Jesus  say  about  the  cross?  He  said, 
"Take  it  up  and  go  about  obeying  the  will  of 
God."  Cling  to  the  cross,  not  as  one  who  is 
weary  and  is  there  finding  rest  alone ;  not  merely 
as  one  who  is  guilty  and  is  there  finding  pardon 
alone.  Cling  to  it,  doing  the  will  of  God.  Where 
would  the  world  have  been  to-day  if  John,  and 
Peter,  and  Paul  had  been  content  to  cling  to  the 
cross  and  do  nothing  more?  You  have  God  to 
serve,  and  a  man  cannot  do  all  the  will  of  God 
sitting  in  a  sanctuary,  kneeling  in  a  closet,  clasp- 
ing his  arms  around  a  sacred  tree,  or  laying  his 
cheek  against  the  wood  that  is  red  with  the  blood 
of  the  Christ  of  God.  By  Christ  alone  are  we 
saved,  and  Christ  we  are  to  follow.  Cling  to  the 
cross,  but  not  "  simpl}^"  Cling  to  the  cross,  but 
go  about  clinging  to  it.  Cling  to  the  cross,  but 
obey  God  while  you  cling,  following  his  command- 
ments with  your  deeds,  glorifjdng  him  upon  the 
earth,  finishing  the  work  which  he  has  given  you 
to  do.  Cling  to  the  cross  until  the  eternal  glory 
comes  ;  but  while  you  cling,  follow  Christ  whither- 
soever he  leads  you. 

If  we  are  not  to  rest  upon  redemption,  but  to 
go  through  it  to  that  which  is  be^^ond,  still  less  are 
we  to  rest  upon  virtue.  Let  us  pause  long  enough 
to  pay  a  tribute  of  sincerest  respect  to  honesty, 
truth-telling,  charity,  virtue.  But  should  a  man 
rest  in  these  ?     Is  it  enough  for  a  man  that  he  be 


66  CAMBIilDGE  SEEMONS. 

honest  with  all  the  men  who  live  on  streets  running 
east  and  west,  though  he  be  not  honest  with -men 
living  on  streets  running  north  and  south?  Is  it 
honest  for  a  man  to  do  what  he  ought  with  his 
neighbor,  and  not  to  do  what  he  ought  with  his 
God  ?  Is  it  right  for  a  man  to  love  his  mother  and 
not  his  father  ?  Is  it  right  for  a  man  to  love  his 
father  here  and  not  his  Father  there  ?  What  is 
honesty?  It  is  a  poor,  bruised,  disfigured  image 
of  honesty  which  men  bow  down  before,  when  all 
their  life  through  they  are  dishonest  because  they 
do  not  serve  God  with  their  heart  and  with  their 
life.  There  is  no  reason  why  a  man  should  do 
the  will  of  men  which  does  not  hold  him  to  the  will 
of  God.  The  reasons  which  bind  a  man  to  love  his 
father,  hold  him  to  the  love  of  God.  Why,  then, 
rest  in  this  which  is  almost  sure  to  slip  into  vanity 
and  self  praise,  the  feeling  that  we  are  honest, 
paying  our  debts,  dealing  justly,  and  that  this  is 
enough?  Poor  father,  I  pity  you  if  you  have  a 
thankless  child !  Sometimes  I  want  to  pity  God 
for  thankless  children ;  for  honest  men  who  never 
pray,  virtuous  men  who  never  love  him,  truth- 
telling  men  who  never  choose  to  serve  him. 

How  beautiful  are  those  Psalms,  and  the 
other  passages  of  the  old  and  new  Scriptures 
which  describe  the  life  of  a  good  man !  How 
wonderfull}^  have  they  been  abused;  as  if  one 
should  take  the  jewels  from  the  king's  crown  and 
tread  them  in  the    dust.     The    fifteenth   Psalm; 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  67 

"  Lord,  who  shall  abide  in  thy  tabernacle,  wlio 
shall  dwell  in  thy  holy  hill?  He  that  walketh 
uprightly,  and  worketh  righteousness."  Strange 
as  it  seems,  men  have  even  used  tliat  Psalm  as  a 
reason  for  not  being  Christians.  They  repeat  its 
words  and  keep  away  from  Christ.  And  that 
other  verse :  "  What  dotli  the  Lord  require  of 
thee,  but  to  do  justly,  and' to  love  mercy,  and  to 
walk  humbly  with  thy  God."  Men  have  even 
taken  that  as  a  reason  for  not  loving  Christ. 
"Fear  God,  and  keep  his  commandments;  for  this 
is  the  whole  duty  of  man  "  —  "  therefore  we  need 
not  be  Christians,"  some  have  said.  Oh,  the  wrong, 
the  injustice,  the  cruelty  of  it  I  These  passages  of 
Scripture  all  describe  truly  the  estate  of  men  when 
God  is  pleased  with  them,  but  they  describe  an 
estate  into  which  we  are  to  enter.  Christ's  work 
in  the  world  is  to  enable  us  to  enter  into  it.  He 
comes  that  the  fifteenth  Psalm  may  be  true  of  us. 
Change  the  prophet's  question.  What  doth  the 
Lord  require  of  thee  in  order  that  thou  shouldst 
see  the  mountains  and  valleys  of  Switzerland? 
To  go  out  in  the  morning  and  walk  through  val- 
leys and  over  mountains  with  open  eyes ;  that  is 
all.  Do  it  to-morrow  morning,  and  will  you  see 
the  Alps?  What  doth  the  Lord  require  of  a  man 
who  wants  to  see  the  mountains  but  to  look  ? 
Why,  there  is  a  small  matter  of  getting  to  Switz- 
erland which  ought  not  to  be  neglected.  "  Lord, 
who  shall  abide  in  thy  tabernacle  ?  "  —  there  is  a 


68  CAMBRIDGE  SER3WNS. 

little  matter  of  getting  into  the  tabernacle  before 
you  abide  there.  We  enter  by  Christ's  work.  "He 
that  hath  clean  hands,"  we  say  calmly  ;  but  let  us 
remember  that  Christ  has  come  to  make  our  hands 
clean.  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart."  Christ 
came  to  make  us  pure  in  heart.  When  Christ's 
work  is  done  in  us,  then  the  Psalm  becomes  the 
glad  reality  of  our  life.  Let  us  never  mistake  the 
end  for  the  means,  or  the  means  for  the  end.  God 
Avould  bring  us  into  this  righteousness,  but  the 
way  to  come  into  it  is  by  the  choice  of  God,  and 
Christ  the  Son  of  God,  our  Saviour. 

As  I  have  thouglit  upon  these  things  there  has 
come  to  me  again  and  again  that  incident  in 
Elijah's  life,  when  he  stood  by  the  river  through 
whose  parted  waters  he  liad  just  walked,  and  was 
to  be  taken  awa3^  There  appeared  a  chariot  of 
fire  and  horses  of  fire,  and  the  Lord  took  the 
prophet  in  the  chariot,  and  carried  him  up  into 
the  glory.  I  read  it  now  as  a  parable ;  the 
chariot  of  fire  and  the  horses  of  fire  remind  us 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  who  has  come  where  we 
are.  The  chariot  is  not  heaven,  but  the  horses 
can  take  us  up  into  heaven.  "  The  cliariot  of 
fire  and  the  horses  of  fire"  are  from  God,  and  are  to 
take  us  to  God.  We  come  to  Christ,  we  enter 
into  Christ,  and  Christ  bears  us  up  to  our  Fatlier's 
house.  Read  that  sentence  of  our  Lord's  own 
words  :  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father  but 
by  me;"  and  this  other  sentence,  which  is   less 


CHOOSE  WHOM  YE  WILL  SERVE.  G9 

familiar,  "  No  man  can  come  to  me  except  tlie 
Father  which  liatli  sent  me  draw  liim."  We 
have  Gocl  seeking  us,  bringing  us  to  Christ  the 
Saviour,  and  then  Christ  taking  us  up  into  the 
tabernacle  and  temple  of  our  God. 

What  do  I  beg  for  to-day,  then?  That  with 
one  act  we  will  choose  God,  bringing  our  will 
to  bear  upon  this  act,  using  our  thought  and  our 
life  until  we  choose  God  and  find  him  and  dwell 
in  his  grace. 

Can  we  do  this?  Can  we  not  agree  so  far  as 
this:  that  we  wdll  take  the  Lord  to  be  our  God? 
Can  w^e  agree  upon  this  to-day,  brethren,  and 
then  pass  on  to  the  study  of  God's  will  and  to 
the  results  of  it?  Here,  this  morning,  I  speak  to 
you  and  I  speak  to  my  own  heart.  Can  we  cov- 
enant with  God  so  far  as  this,  that  we  will  serve 
him  with  all  our  heart  and  with  all  our  life  ?  He 
who  shall  come  so  far  as  that  shall  hnd  the  mercy 
of  God  bearing  him  up  into  the  glory. 

Now,  as  we  go  away,  shall  Ave  sing  a  loyal 
hymn,  the  hymn  of  a  loyal  people,  the  hymn  of 
true  hearts  singing  unto  their  Lord  ? 

All  hail  the  power  of  Jesus'  name. 


IV. 
LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  SEA. 


Scripture  Lesson  :  Acis,  xxvii. 

Text  :  Go  up  now,  look  toward  the  sea :     /  Kings,  xviii :  48. 

THE  prophet  was  waiting  for  rain.  The  cloud 
which  was  to  bring  it  in  abundance  would 
come  by  the  way  of  the  sea.  He  sent  his  servant 
seven  times  that  he  might  know  if  the  cloud  was 
coming.  ''  Elijah  went  up  to  the  top  of  Carmel ; 
and  he  cast  himself  down  upon  the  earth,  and  put 
his  face  between  his  knees,  and  said  to  his  servant, 
Go  up  now,  look  toward  the  sea." 

It  is  with  a  similar  intention  that  men  have 
commonly  looked  toward  the  sea.  They  have 
sought  something  from  it.  They  have  looked  for 
benefits  which  must  pass  over  it  to  reach  them. 
They  have  taken  its  treasures.  They  have  made 
it  a  highway  for  the  ships  which  have  carried  their 
merchandise  from  land  to  land,  and  exchanged  the 
products  of  separated  climes.  They  have  jour- 
neyed over  it  that  they  might  visit  lands  of  historic 
interest,  or  study  the  living  institutions  of  the 
world.     The  shores  of  our  own  land  were  sought 


LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  SEA.  71 

in  ships  which  pressed  their  wa}^  across  the 
sea,  bearing  the  men  who  looked  beyond  the  wide 
waters  for  a  liaven  for  their  liberty  and  purity. 
This  church,  this  college,  this  nation,  came  by  the 
way  of  the  sea. 

Our  greatest  enterprises  make  an  alliance  with 
the  sea  and  the  men  who  belong  to  it.  Ships 
must  carry  our  missionaries  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth,  that  they  may  erect  in  every  land  the  cross 
of  the  Redeemer  and  the  throne  of  the  Kinof.  Our 
Lord  himself  preached  from  a  fisher's  boat,  and 
called  from  the  sea  the  men  who  were  to  be  his 
first  disciples  and  apostles.  Men  have  been  using 
the  sea  for  their  own  purposes,  always  seeking  and 
getting.  The  sea,  the  seamen,  and  the  ships  are 
the  common  benefactors  of  civilization  and  relig- 
ion. Even  now,  as  the  summer  days  draw  on, 
we  are  looking  toward  the  sea  for  renewed  liealth 
and  enlarged  resources  of  mind  and  heart. 

It  is  time  that  we  possessed  and  exercised  a 
more  generous  spirit :  that  we  asked  if  we  cannot 
give  where  we  have  received  so  much ;  if  we  can- 
not respond  to  these  good  offices  with  our  own 
thoughtful  and  liberal  benefactions.  With  this 
thought  and  purpose  in  our  minds,  let  us  go  up 
now  and  look  toward  the  sea. 

Looking  off  from  this  height,  what  do  we 
behold?  The  vast  expanse  of  waters,  uniting  the 
lands  which  they  seem  to  keep  apart,  and  making 
the  lands  a  safe  and  pleasant  dwelling-place  for 


72  CAMBRIDGE  SERjMONS. 

men ;  the  seat  of  great  nations ;  tlie  abode  of  an 
advancing  civilization.  But  it  concerns  us  much 
more  to  observe  that  there  are  three  millions  of 
men  whose  dwelling  is  npon  the  sea.  They  are 
separated  from  their  families,  and  from  the  com- 
fort and  security  of  their  homes,  from  the  enjoy- 
ments of  friendly  society,  and  from  the  ministra- 
tions of  the  church. 

On  the  other  hand,  they  are  thrown  into  the 
severest  hardships.  Their  work  is  hard,  their  peril 
is  constant.  Whether  upon  sliip  or  on  sliore,  they 
are  in  danger.  Their  calling  and  their  training 
make  them  an  easy  prey.  The  lifetime  of  the 
sailor  is  twenty -eight  years,  and  his  sea  life  eleven 
years.  The  monotonous  story  of  shipwrecks  is  the 
saddest  reading  of  the  winter  months.  Along 
much  of  the  seaboard  the  old  prophecy  scarcely 
fails  of  fulfilment,  that  the  women  of  Colias  shall 
roast  their  corn  with  oars. 

This  is  for  us.  The  sailor  is  the  indispensable 
man.  Should  he  retire  from  service  the  world 
would  almost  stand  still.  Look  at  the  manifold 
influence  of  Greece  npon  the  world. ,  The  book 
which  is  the  heart  of  the  world's  life,  under  whose 
sway  humanity  is  to  attain  to  its  renown,  was 
written  by  divine  appointment  in  the  language  of 
Greece.  But  Greece  lies  within  the  seas,  its  wind- 
ing coast  breaking  into  harbors  for  the  ships  of  the 
great  sea.  Greece  was  fitly  likened  to  a  ship,  and 
Corinth,  "  the  city  of  the  two  seas,  "  was  the  prow 


LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  SEA.  73 

and  stern  of  tlie  ship.  In  allegory,  Corinth  was  a 
woman  upon  a  rock  between  two  otlier  figures, 
each  of  which  held  a  rudder.  The  s^nnbol  is  well 
chosen.  In  the  history  of  the  world  the  ship  and 
the  sailor  hold  a  conspicuous  place. 

These  sailors  are  men  like  ourselves.  They  are 
brave,  bold,  generous,  impulsive,  open-handed  and 
open-hearted  jnen.  They  are  the  children  of  Our 
Father.  Our  duty  is  their  duty.  Before  them 
stretch  the  endless  years.  The  gospel  of  to-day 
and  the  judgment  of  the  great  day  are  for  them. 
For  them  Christ  died  and  rose  again.  They  have 
minds  which  can  be  instructed,  and  souls  which 
can  be  saved,  and  lives  which  can  be  set  in  highest 
service. 

To  the  fishermen  of  Galilee  the  Saviour  ex- 
tended his  personal  ministry.  A  part  of  his  going 
about  doing  good  was  on  tlie  sea.  He  trod  its 
waves  that  he  might  help  the  weary  rowers  when 
tlie  wind  was  contrar3^  He  woke  from  his  sleep 
to  still  the  tempest  and  save  the  affrighted  men  in 
whose  ship  he  was  crossing  the  sea.  He  rescued 
one  sinking  man.  He  filled  the  nets  which  the 
niglit's  toiling  had  left  empty.  Tlie  first  to  hear 
the  good  news  which  he  brought,  and  the  first  to 
tell  it  to  the  world,  were  sailors.  The  Lord  liim- 
self  leads  us  to  the  sea,  directs  our  gaze  to  the 
wandering  ships,  bids  us  give  to  them  as  freely  as 
we  receive  from  him,  teaches  us  that  we  can  make 
them  the  messengers  of  his  grace  around  the  world. 


74  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS. 

What  can  we  do  for  the  seamen  ?  We  can 
place  them  in  good  ships,  properly  built  and 
honestly  loaded.  That  man  has  a  title  to  royal 
distinction  who  has  drawn  around  the  ship  the 
safety  line  which  bears  his  name.  We  can  give  to 
them  the  protection  of  the  law,  that  they  may  be 
fairly  paid  for  their  hazardous  life,  and  that  their 
earnings  may  be  safe  from  the  hands  which  would 
steal  them.  We  can  have  our  coast  thoroughly 
surveyed,  audits  perils  brought  to  light,  that  ships 
may  go  securely  on  their  way.  We  can  maintain 
lighthouses  and  lightships  wherever  they  can  be 
a  warning  and  a  guide.  We  can  sustain  our  life- 
saving  service,  and  let  it  do  its  w^ork  through  all 
the  year,  seeing  that  storm  and  shipwreck  cannot 
be  regulated  by  the  calendar. 

We  can  give  the  sailors  a  home  when  they  are 
on  shore,  and  a  friendly  hand,  and  a  genial  compan- 
ionship, which  shall  make  their  stay  pleasant  and 
safe.  We  can  remember  that  to  most  of  our 
seamen  this  is  a  foreign  land,  where  they  should 
receive  from  us  the  same  attention  which  we  are 
to  provide  for  our  own  men  when  they  are  abroad. 
The  sailor  on  shore,  especially  in  a  strange  land, 
should  find  waiting  for  him  a  friend,  a  home,  a 
church,  a  savings-bank,  and  whatever  will  supply 
his  varied  wants.  We  have  but  to  think  how 
greatly  we  are  his  debtor  to  be  moved  to  repay 
him  out  of  the  abundance  of  our  comfort. 

We  can  put  Bibles  on  every  ship ;  a  Bible  for  a 


LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  SEA,  75 

mini.  It  is  the  "book  which  he  needs,  even  as  we 
need  it.  The  godliness  which  it  teaches  is  profit- 
able for  his  life,  as  it  is  for  our  own.  God  and  his 
law,  Christ  and  his  redemption,  the  future  and 
all  which  it  contains,  should  be  in  his  thoughts, 
and  should  be  set  there,  kept  there,  enlarged 
there,  by  the  Word  which  is  a  lamp  and  a  light 
for  men  at  sea  and  on  shore.  It  is  interesting 
to  observe  how  much  of  the  imagery  of  the  Bible 
is  drawn  from  the  sea,  and  would  naturally  be 
most  appreciated  by  seamen.  Our  days  pass 
away  as  the  swift  ships.  The  virtuous  woman  is 
like  the  merchants'  ships.  The  true  hope  in  God 
is  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul.  A  man's  life  is 
influenced  as  great  ships  are  turned  about  with  a 
very  small  helm.  "  Deep  calleth  unto  deep  at 
the  noise  of  thy  waterspouts :  all  thy  waves  and 
thy  billows  are  gone  over  me,"  cries  the  burdened 
and  hopeful  Psalmist.  "  When  thou  passest 
through  the  waters  I  will  be  with  thee,"  is  the 
Lord's  promise.  "  When  the  enemy  shall  come  in 
like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  lift  up  a 
standard  against  him."  "  The  wicked  are  like 
the  troubled  sea,  when  it  cannot  rest."  To  the 
obedient  his  peace  shall  be  as  a  river,  and  his 
righteousness  as  the  waves  of  the  sea.  When  St. 
John  was  a  prisoner  upon  a  rock  in  the  midst  of 
the  sea,  he  saw  the  Son  of  Man  in  his  glory,  and 
his  voice  was  as  the  sound  of  many  waters ;  and 
the  new  song  which  he  heard  before  the  throne. 


76  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

the  song  of  the  redeemed  from  the  earth,  was  in  a 
voice  "as  the  voice  of  many  waters." 

The  hymn  which  so  clearly  expresses  in  melo- 
dious form  the  grace  of  the  Saviour  and  the  trust  of 
the  soul  in  him,  among  the  dearest  of  all  our 
Christian  songs,  carries  our  thoughts  at  once  out 
upon  the  sea.  It  seems  almost  to  have  been  writ- 
ten for  sailors  — 

Jesus,  Lover  of  my  soul, 

Let  me  to  tby  bosom  fly, 
While  the  waters  near  me  roll, 
'         "While  the  tempest  still  is  high: 
Hide  me,  O  my  Saviour,  hide. 

Till  the  storm  of  life  is  past ; 
Safe  into  the  haven  guide  : 

Oh,  receive  my  soul  at  last ! 

But  we  are  able  to  give  to  the  sailor  other 
books.  There  is  scarcely  a  limit  to  our  ability  in 
this  direction.  There  are  few  good  books  which 
are  read  in  our  homes  which  would  not  be  suitable 
on  board  the  ship.  In  some  respects  a  man  has 
the  advantage  of  a  book  as  a  companion  and 
instructor.  In  other  important  respects  the  advan- 
tage is  with  the  book.  The  book  has  its  wit  and 
wisdom  in  a  condensed  form.  It  is  patient.  It 
will  tarry  the  sailor's  leisure,  and  speak  whenever 
he  is  disposed  to  listen.  It  will  repeat  its  words  as 
often  as  it  is  asked.  It  will  not  crowd  him  in  his 
house,  nor  be  in  his  way  on  deck.  It  will  eat 
none  of  the  ship's  bread  and  demand  none  of  its 


LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  ^EA.  77 

favors.  The  good  book  will  be  the  good  friend, 
suited  to  all  climes,  adapted  to  all  the  conditions 
of  life.  Like  the  sea-gull  it  will  be  at  home  in  the 
calm,  and  will  beat  up  against  the  gale. 

This  book  we  can  furnish  and  ship  in  profusion 
and  variet3\  Books  of  travel  and  history,  of  geog- 
raphy and  biography,  of  science  and  art ;  stories 
wdiich  are  worth  reading ;  poetr}^  Avhich  will  be  a 
delight ;  books  wliich  teach  virtue  and  religion  — 
one  and  the  same  book  which  we  use  and  prize, 
which  we  buy  for  our  homes  and  place  in  our  j^ub- 
lic  libraries  —  these  we  can  give  to  those  who  go 
down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  away  from  public  libra- 
ries, and  book-stores,  and  newspapers,  with  the 
leisure  of  a  long  voyage,  with  the  intervals 
between  the  storms,  with  the  weary  days  when  a 
new  face,  and  a  fresh  voice,  and  a  novel  thought 
will  be  welcomed  and  cherished. 

In  the  work  of  civilization,  the  man  and  the 
book  go  through  the  world  together.  We  should 
keep  them  together  when  we  can.  There  should 
be  chaplains  at  all  seaports.  But  we  cannot  pro- 
vide twenty-five  thousand  chaplains  that  each  of 
our  ships  may  be  furnished.  They  would  not  be 
received  if  Ave  could  provide  the  men.  There  is 
no  difficulty  in  furnishing  twenty-five  thousand 
libraries,  that  each  ship  may  have  one.  The 
American  Seaman's  Friend  Society,  through  which 
our  part  of  this  work  is  to  be  done,  has  already  sent 
out  more  than  seventy-five  hundred  libraries,  con- 


78  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS. 

taining  more  than  five  hundred  thousand  volumes. 
It  had  phiced  at  the  last  report  nine  hundred  and 
thirty  five  libraries  in  the  ships  of  the  navy  and  in 
naval  hospitals,  and  one  at  each  of  our  life-saving 
stations.  The  work  is  as  simple  as  it  is  sensible  and 
useful.  I  have  been  told  that  it  was  a  woman's 
thought,  and  I  can  readily  believe  it.  Twenty 
dollars  sends  a  library  to  sea ;  not  on  one  voyage 
only,  but  on  a  series  of  voyages.  It  may  be 
exchanged  for  another  in  some  distant  port,  or 
on  the  hicrh  seas.  It  mav  return  to  be  recruited, 
that  it  may  again  go  abroad.  For  the  price  of  a 
book  you  or  I  can  go  on  this  voyage  of  helpfuhiess, 
to  be  the  sailor's  companion  and  assistant,  to  cheer 
him  in  his  loneliness,  to  shield  him  in  his  peril, 
to  bind  him  to  his  home,  to  point  him  to  the  Fath- 
er's house,  and  attend  him  on  the  upward  way.  It  is 
an  opportunity  to  be  heartily  seized.  What  work 
in  which  we  engage  promises  so  large  a  return  for 
so  small  an  outlay !  So  wide  an  influence  with  so 
little  exertion  !  We  can  stay  at  home,  and  send 
our  line  out  through  all  the  earth,  and  our  words 
to  the  end  of  the  world.  It  is  a  magnificent 
enterprise,  simple  as  it  is.  All  which  commends 
it  to  us  as  we  think  upon  it  is  enhanced  when  we 
see  the  eagerness  with  which  these  books  are 
sought,  the  care  which  they  receive,  the  signs  of 
faithful  reading  which  they  bring  back  from  their 
wandering.  It  would  be  hard  for  a  generous  man 
to  look  upon  a  returned  library,  to  take  the  books 


LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  SEA,  79 

in  his  hand,  to  catch  the  aroma  which  is  breathed 
out  from  the  case  and  the  books,  and  not  desire  to 
go  upon  ii  voyage  so  easily  made,  and  to  have 
a  sailor's  library  for  a  part  of  his  own  life. 

The  results  which  have  attended  this  unostenta- 
tious service  confirm  all  which  has  been  said.  The 
testimony  is  abundant  and  continuous.  Men  have 
been  cheered  and  helped.  They  have  been  pro- 
tected when  among  enemies.  They  have  been 
taught  the  way  of  righteousness.  Mau}^  have 
become  doers  of  the  word  of  life,  and  confessing 
Christ  as  their  Saviour  have  entered  upon  his  ser- 
vice with  heartiness  and  have  been  efficient 
laborers  iu  his  name.  Sailors  say  that  in  coming 
around  Cape  Horn,  or  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the 
first  land  they  make  is  the  North  Star.  On  many 
a  sea  and  from  many  a  ship  sailors  have  seen  the 
Star  in  the  East  which  has  led  them  to  the  place 
where  the  young  child  lay  who  was  afterward  to 
call  men  from  their  boats  into  his  service. 

There  is  a  special  significance  in  the  Christian 
life  of  a  sailor  because  he  is  a  wanderer  on  the 
earth.  He  visits  many  lands  where  he  can  be  tho 
living  witness  to  the  power  and  principle  of  the 
truth  which  he  teaches  with  his  lips  and  illustrates 
in  his  life.  Before  Paganism  and  its  vices  he  can 
show  forth  the  better  way  of  pure  and  undefiled 
religion.  Himself  a  missionary,  he  can  stay  up  the 
hands  and  strengthen  the  heart  and  enlarge  the 
success  of  those  who  have  gone  into  strange  lands 


80  CAMBEIBGE  SEBMONS. 

only  that  they  might  preach  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ  who  loved  them,  and  loved  all 
men,  and  gave  himself  for  the  world. 

For  the  special  enterprise  which  we  are  consid- 
ering to-day,  we  may  draw  incentive  and  example 
from  other  work  which  is  done  for  seamen.  Not 
for  them  alone,  but  for  ourselves  when  we  are 
sharing  their  perils.  The  government  erects  light- 
houses and  guards  them  with  generous  care.  We 
can  hold  the  himp  of  life  along  the  shore,  and  out 
on  the  sea,  and  in  foreign  ports,  that  men  may 
reach  the  haven  which  they  should  desire.  We 
can  meet  the  sailor  wherever  he  goes  with  the 
light  of  the  world.  We  can  make  him  a  light  to 
lighten  the  Gentiles.  By  his  help  we  can  make 
the  world  bright  with  the  glory  of  God,  and  the 
Lamb  shall  be  the  light  thereof.  Our  life-saving 
service  is  well  named,  and,  while  it  is  not  yet  per- 
fected, is  an  honor  to  the  land.  Wonderful  is  the 
efficiency  of  its  one  hundred  and  six  stations.  Think 
of  two  thousand  lives  saved  in  a  single  year,  and  a 
million  and  a  half  dollars  worth  of  property  pre- 
served. What  work  is  grander  and  more  humane 
than  that  which  is  done  by  the  hardy  and  resolute 
men  to  whom  this  mercy  is  intrusted  ?  It  was  not 
many  months  ago  that  men  whose  time  was  out 
and  whose  pay  was  stopped  saved  thirty  passengers, 
with  the  sailors  of  the  P/my,  which  had  presumed 
to  be  wrecked  at  the  wrong  season.  A  life-saving 
service  which  shall  extend  its  watch  and  its  labors 


LOOKING  TOWARD  THE  SEA.  81 

to  the  souls  of  men,  that  they  may  not  perish,  but 
have  everlasting  life,  is  demanded  by  humanity  and 
Christianity.  It  is  organized.  It  needs  more  men 
and  more  money  for  its  work.  It  appeals  to  every 
kind  and  noble  impulse.  The  very  luxuries  on 
our  table  urge  us  to  the  payment  of  our  debt  to 
sailors.  The  books  which  we  enjoy  plead  for  lib- 
erty to  go  out  and  bless  others.  The  storms  of 
winter  bear  to  our  retreat  the  cry  of  the  needy 
whose  hold  on  life  is  frail.  He  whose  friends  we 
are  bids  us  walk  the  sea  after  him,  that  we  may  do 
good. 

I  am  sure  that  you  will  let  a  sailor's  son  plead 
with  you  in  the  sailors'  behalf.  I  pray  you  to 
carry  them  in  yonr  hearts,  to  pray  for  them,  to 
share  with  them  the  blessings  which  gladden  your 
life — the  blessings  which  have  come  to  you 
through  their  hands.  The  opportunity  is  as  invit- 
ing as  it  is  large. 

"  We  are  as  near  to  heaven  by  sea  as  by  land," 
were  the  words  of  Sir  Humpln^ey  Gilbert  as 
his  bark  entered  the  darkness  of  the  night,  to  be 
seen  no  more.  The  way  to  heaven  proves  shorter 
than  the  way  by  land.  Heaven  is  near  to  bless 
the  wanderer  with  grace,  to  guide  him  witli 
divine  counsel  that  he  may  be  received  into 
glory.  The  promises  of  the  Lord's  kingdom 
include  the  sea.  At  last  there  shall  be  no  more 
sea :  no  more  will  it  part  friend  from  friend.  It 
will  imperil  no  life.     It  will   take   no    man   into 


82  CAMBBIBGE  SEBMONS. 

its  dark  depths.  When  the  graves  are  opened, 
the  great  sepulchre  will  render  up  its  dead,  and 
roll  away  forever.  Before  that  day  the  Lord 
will  have  his  own.  It  is  written,  and  it  shall  be 
fulfilled,  that  the  abundance  of  the  sea  shall  be 
converted  unto  him.  Our  faith  and  our  work 
are  to  be  as  broad  as  the  promise.  When  we 
pray  and  when  we  give,  we  should  stand  with  one 
foot  on  the  land  and  one  foot  on  the  sea,  sure  that 
when  time  shall  be  no  more,  the  endless  years 
shall  still  be  ours  ;  ours  and  theirs  who  are  in  our 
mind  and  on  our  heart  to-day.  With  a  long  vis- 
ion, with  a  controlling  faith,  with  generous  pur- 
poses, let  us  go  up  now  and  look  toward  the  sea. 


V. 

THE  GOOD  MERCHANT. 


IN  MEMORY    OF   MK.   JAMES   P.   MELLEDGE. 


Text  :  Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom,  and  the  man 
that  gctteth  miderstanding. 

For  the  merchandise  of  it  is  better  than  the  merchandise  of 
silver,  and  the  gain  thereof  than  fine  gold. 

She  is  more  precious  than  rubies  :  and  all  the  things  thou 
canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared  unto  her. 

Length  of  days  is  in  her  right  hand ;  and  in  her  left  hand 
riches  and  honor. 

Her  ways  arc  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are 
peace. 

She  is  a  tree  of  life  to  them  that  lay  hold  upon  her:  and 
happy  is  every  one  that  retaineth  her.     Proverbs  iii:  13-18. 

THERE  luiYc  been  many  among  us  who  have 
found  these  sayings  true,  and  have  ilhis- 
trated  their  truth  before  men.  Of  these  some  re- 
main, honored  and  trusted,  serving  Christ  and  the 
Church,  wearing  meekly  the  homage  which  belongs 
to  usefulness.  Others  have  gone  from  us,  entering 
into    their   rest,  advancing  in   their   reward,   yet 

83 


84  CAMBRIDGE  SER3I0NS. 

leaving  with  us  blessed  memories  vvliicli  we  delight 
to  cherish,  and  a  gracious  influence  for  which  we 
give  thanks  at  every  thought  of  them.  The  life 
of  a  good  man  is  a  present  and  permanent  good. 
It  is  helpful  to  the  strong  and  the  true.  It  is 
profitable  to  the  weak  and  the  wavering.  It  gives 
hope  to  the  old,  who  are  soon  to  intrust  their  work 
to  other  hands.  It  gives  wisdom  to  the  young, 
calling  them  to  noble  lives  and  quickening  every 
manly  endeavor.  This  is  especially  true  when 
the  life  has  been  made  up  within  the  common 
bounds,  and  out  of  ordinary  material,  so  that  it 
can  stand  as  a  pattern  for  other  lives.  This  is  of 
the  greater  service  if  the  life  has  been  seen  day 
by  day,  as  deed  has  been  joined  to  deed  ;  where 
purpose  and  principle  and  effort  and  result  could 
all  be  observed  and  intelligently  considered.  There 
is  one  thing  which  is  evident,  that  the  good  life 
may  be  lived  in  any  part  of  the  world,  in  any  age, 
with  any  outward  estate,  with  any  position  among 
men.  It  is  evident,  also,  that  it  can  be  engaged  in 
any  kind  of  honest  work.  The  good  man  may  be 
a  prophet  or  apostle  ;  he  may  be  the  minister  of 
the  Church,  to  teach  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of 
God.  He  may  be  a  lawyer,  concerned  with  divine 
justice  and  righteousness  as  they  are  to  be  ap- 
plied to  the  affairs  of  men  for  their  guidance.  He 
may  be  a  physician,  carrying  the  Gospel  of  God's 
healing  into  the  homes  of  men,  that  their  days 
may  be  prolonged  in  the  earth.     He  may  be  a 


THE  GOOD  MEECUANT,  85 

teacher  opening  the  world  of  God's  truth  and 
order  before  tlie  expectant  eyes  which  wait  for  the 
revelation.  He  may  be  a  nieclianic,  framing  the 
wood  and  stone  which  God  has  made  into  houses 
and  ships,  that  households  may  live  in  comfort, 
and  climes  exchange  their  products,  and  nations  be- 
come neighbors.  Our  thoughts  add  another  to 
the  brief  list.  The  good  man  may  be  a  merchant. 
He  may  have  to  do  with  merchandise,  with  buy- 
ing and  selling,  with  finance  and  economy ;  stand- 
ing between  the  earth  and  her  children,  in  the 
name  of  the  Lord,  to  bring  out  the  treasures  of 
tlie  land  and  the  sea,  the  forest  and  the  mine,  and 
lay  them  at  the  feet  of  those  who  need  them.  It 
is  most  appropriate  to-day  that  in  our  study  of  a 
good  life  we  keep  a  mercliant  in  mind.  Instructed 
by  our  recollection  and  affection  we  are  certain  to 
do  this.  AVe  are  glad  and  grateful  that  we  can 
do  it  Avith  an  ample  confidence.  Yet  no  sooner  do 
we  seek  thus  to  confine  our  thoughts  than  they 
reach  away  beyond  the  name  we  liave  chosen  and 
the  life  which  it  describes.  The  good  man  may 
be  a  merchant,  but  he  must  be  more.  His  business 
may  be  upon  a  vast  scale,  but  his  life  must  be 
more  vast.  He  has  relations  and  corresponding 
duties  towards  his  father  and  mother,  while  they 
are  here,  and  towards  their  home.  If  he  has  a 
family  of  his  own,  he  has  peculiar  and  sacred  obli- 
gations towards  tliose  who  bear  liis  name  and  look 
to  him  for  support  and  counsel.     He  has  duties 


86  CAMBBIDGE  SER3fONS. 

to  the  community  with  which  he  is  connected, 
whose  interests  he  must  regard.  Above  all  he  must 
remember  his  Creator,  and  give  to  God  reverent 
obedience  and  affection.  He  must  make  up  a 
Christian  career,  true  in  doctrine,  just  in  conduct, 
devoted  in  purpose,  humane,  charitable,  beneficent. 

Whatever  be  the  special  occupation  by  which 
a  man  is  known,  he  has  these  broad  relationships 
in  which  he  must  be  found  faithful.  A  good 
life  is  not  a  point,  nor  is  it  a  line.  It  is  a  circle 
whose  circumference  encloses  many  different 
tilings,  compassing  them  in  a  regular  and  unbroken 
curve.  Herein  lies  the  glory  of  manhood,  that  it 
is  large  and  generous ;  that  it  is  complete  and  right. 
Have  I  said  more  than  we  have  seen  in  the  lives 
of  men  ?  More  than  one  name  could  be  written 
underneath  the  picture ;  one  name  your  tender 
thought  has  been  speaking. 

Look  now  more  closely  and  more  fully  at  some 
of  the  things  which  properly  find  a  place  in  the 
life  of  a  good  merchant. 

I.  First,  then,  it  is  of  great  value  to  a  man  to 
be  well  born.  One  cannot  secure  this  for  himself. 
No  man  is  forbidden  to  be  great  for  the  want  of 
it ;  no  man  is  assured  of  a  noble  life  because  of 
it.  Yet  happy  is  he  who  possesses  it.  Manhood 
descends.  If  character  be  personal,  the  forces 
which  make  up  character  are  in  a  good  measure 
inherited.  It  is  the  solemn  law  working  grandly 
when    the     inheritance    is     grand.     It     enlarges 


THE  GOOD  MERCHANT.  87 

human  life.  It  makes  it  possible  for  a  man  to 
improve  upon  himself  and  to  give  to  his  sons  a 
better  start  than  was  given  to  him.  Working 
normally,  it  secures  an  advance  by  generations. 
The  father  and  mother  may  give  to  their  child 
disposition,  taste,  tendency,  Avith  opinions,  mo- 
tives, powers.  The  birthright  is  long  in  their 
keeping  as  the  child's  guardian,  that  he  may  have 
his  own  with  usur}^,  through  their  watchfulness, 
influence,  training.  This  is  according  to  the 
divine  ordinance.  The  good  parent,  says  an 
old  English  writer,  "beginneth  his  care  for  his 
children  at  their  birth,  giving  them  to  God  to  be, 
if  not  his  chaplains,  at  least  his  servants.  This 
care  he  continueth  till  the  day  of  his  death,  in 
their  infancy,  youth,  and  man's  estate."  Mani- 
festly it  is  a  great  advantage  to  a  boy  to  have 
such  parentage :  to  be  born  of  those  who  have  a 
complete  view  of  life  and  a  thorough  conception 
of  duty  ;  to  begin  his  career  in  a  house  where 
God  is  loved  and  served ;  to  be  brought  up  from 
his  infancy  in  the  knowledge  of  his  other  and 
greater  Father :  of  his  commandment,  his  provi- 
dence, his  mercy ;  and  to  have  his  spiritual  nature 
trained  for  the  )^ears  and  the  ages  which  are 
before  it.  It  is  a  great  help  to  a  boy  to  have  for ' 
his  father  an  honest  man ;  upright,  frugal,  indus- 
trious :  whose  days  of  strength  are  given  to  prof- 
itable work,  and  whose  riper  years  are  hallowed 
witli  an   active  charity;  to  grow   up   in  a   house 


88  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

whose  hospitality  finds  its  most  frequent  guest  in 
a  godly  man,  an  angel  entertained  not  unawares  : 
a  disciple  lodged  for  the  Master's  sake. 

Be  his 

My  special  thanks,  whose  even-balanced  soul, 
From  first  youth  tested  up  to  extreme  old  age, 
Business  conld  not  make  dull,  nor  passion  wild; 
Who  saw  life  steadily,  and  saw  it  whole. 

With  such  parents,  in  such  a  home,  a  boy  may 
be  spirited,  fond  of  adventure,  full  of  enterprise  j 
a  leader  in  the  heroic  sports  of  youth.  He  may 
be  quiet,  content  with  home  and  school,  marked 
in  his  work  and  play  by  gentleness  and  courtesy. 
Either  boy  may  be  truthful,  reverent,  manly, 
and  give  promise  of  a  creditable  life.  I  have  in 
mind  to-day  the  quiet,  courteous  boy ;  whose 
ardor  Avas  tempered  with  gentleness;  whose 
strength  rejoiced  in  beauty  of  spirit  and  behavior. 
What  will  the  man  be  out  of  this  beginning  ? 

II.  In  answering  this  I  remark,  secondly,  that 
it  belongs  to  the  good  merchant  to  have  a  wise 
choice  of  his  calling.  Not  all  good  men  are 
suited  to  one  method  of  life.  One  spirit  may  be  in 
them  all,  while  they  have  diversities  of  gifts  which 
should  find  diversities  of  operations.  It  would 
not  have  been  strange  if  from  the  associations  of  his 
boyhood  this  young  man  had  chosen  to  be  a  minis- 
ter, and  doubtless  he  would  have  been  wise  as  a 
winner  of  souls.     With  his  kind  heart  and  care- 


THE  GOOD  MERCHANT,  89 

ful  hands  he  would  probably  have  been  a  skilful 
physician.  In  either  profession  he  would  have 
found  a  wide  field  for  goodness  and  strength. 

It  was  most  natural  that  he  should  choose  his 
father's  calling:  and  the  result  has  justified  the 
choice.  What  department  of  business  should  he 
select?  Brought  up  by  an  established  mercantile 
house,  he  turned  from  that  special  kind  of  business 
to  another  which  offered  to  the  3'oung  merchant 
an  opening  into  a  free  and  remunerative  service. 
He  chose  that  for  which  he  was  fitted :  therefore 
he  chose  well.  Yet  making  a  wise  selection  of  a 
career  is  but  one  part  of  the  good  merchant's 
choice.  He  must  also  determine  what  manner  of 
man  he  will  be  in  his  work.  Some  things  seem 
settled  for  him.  According  to  his  temperament 
and  education,  he  may  be  stirring,  enterprising, 
pushing  into  new  countries,  finding  strange  aven- 
ues for  trade;  or  he  may  mingle  great  prudence 
with  his  zeal,  regard  new  enterprises  with  caution, 
and  let  his  diligence  satisfy  itself  in  paths  wliere 
he  is  familiar  with  the  way.  This  man  was  zeal- 
ous and  careful :  diligent  and  wise.  Whatever 
his  character  in  this  respect,  he  has  to  choose  in 
what  way  he  will  regard  his  business ;  whether  it 
sliall  be  for  narrow  or  broad  results ;  whether  it  shall 
be  content  with  temporal  or  seek,  also,  eternal 
reward  ;  whether  it  shall  be  of  the  earth  earthy,  or 
be  in  its  intent  spiritual  like  himself;  whether  his 
business  shall  be  master  of  him,  or  he  shall  be  the 


90  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

master;  whether  he  shall  follow  the  maxims  of 
the  world,  or  work  under  the  commandment  of 
God.  One  may  be  a  merchant  on  either  plan.  The 
good  merchant  will  elect  the  better  plan.  He 
will  dignify  his  business  with  the  lofty  temper 
which  he  takes  into  it.  He  will  make  it  the  means 
of  his  spiritual  culture.  He  will  order  it  after  his 
own  will,  under  the  statutes  beneath  which  he 
lives.  Realizing  how  large  a  part  of  his  time  and 
strength  he  is  giving  to  his  business,  he  will  make 
sure  that  he  is  not  separating  so  much  of  his  life 
from  its  chief  end  and  worthy  method.  He  will 
refuse  to  divide  his  manhood  according  to  days 
or  places.  He  will  be  himself  because  in  liimself 
he  is  at  his  best.  A  man  divided  is  like  a  house 
divided.  The  best  everywhere,  will  be  his  rule. 
The  merchandise  of  wisdom  ''  is  better  than  the 
merchandise  of  silver,  and  the  gain  thereof  than 
fine  gold  !  "  Therefore  he  will  get  wisdom  and  not 
sell  it.  He  will  work  in  "  a  land  whose  stones  are 
iron  and  out  of  wdiose  hills  thou  mayest  dig 
silver."  In  his  daily  life,  in  all  its  common 
concerns,  he  will  keep  his  integrity,  and  preserve 
the  graces  of  his  character  and  manners,  carrying 
*'  high  erected  thoughts  seated  in  the  heart  of 
courtesy."  I  will  conclude  and  adorn  this 
account  with  words  written  more  than  two  hun- 
dred years  ago  — "  The  good  merchant  is  one  who,  by 
his  trading,  claspeth  the  islands  to  the  continent, 
and  one  country  to  another ;  an  excellent  gardener 


THE  GOOD  MERCHANT.  91 

wlio  makes  England  bear  wine,  and  oil,  and  spices  ; 
yea,  herein  goes  beyond  nature  in  causing  that 
omnis  fert  omnia  tellus.  He  wrongs  not  tlie 
buyer  in  number,  weight,  or  measure.  These 
are  the  landmarks  of  all  trading,  which  must  not 
be  removed.  God  is  the  principal  clerk  of  the 
market ;  "  all  the  weights  of  the  bag  are  his 
work!"  Sometimes  *Hhe  seller's  conscience  is  all 
the  buyer's  skill."  Men  have  a  touchstone  whereby 
to  try  gold  ;  but  gold  is  the  touchstone  whereby  to 
try  men."  And  this  is  fitting  here :  "  The  true 
gentleman "  *'  is  courteous  and  affable  to  his 
neighbors.  As  the  sword  of  the  best  tempered 
metal  is  most  flexible,  so  the  truly  generous  are 
most  pliant  and  courteous  in  their  behavior  to 
their  inferiors."  Is  all  this  true  of  the  merchant 
who  is  most  in  our  minds  ?  Is  it  not  true  ?  What 
honor  it  is  thus  to  have  borne  himself  honorably, 
trusty  in  his  calling,  faithful  to  himself,  always 
remembering  that  before  he  was  a  merchant  he 
was  a  man  :  and  that  when  he  should  cease  to  be 
a  merchant,  he  would  still  be  a  man !  To  hold 
this  in  his  thought  was  to  make  his  work  pros- 
perous, and  his  gains  lasting.  This  enlarges 
courage,  lengthens  patience,  and  uplifts  the  life.  It 
increases  and  improves  the  man.  He  needs  to 
let  his  best  assert  itself.  He  is  more  than  his  pow- 
ers, and  more  tlian  his  life.  He  is  spirit.  Eternal 
years  are  on  him.  Tliis  true  and  abiding  nature, 
the  real  man.,  wins  or  loses  life.     A  man's  treasure 


92  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

is  his  character.  If  that  is  rich,  he  is  rich.  He 
is  so  much  that  he  can  be  more ;  so  high  that  he 
can  be  higher. 

He  can  be  good,  and  have  his  goodness  solid  and 
round.  I  wish  to  pay  this  grateful  tribute  to  the 
men  who  make  us  all  their  debtors,  as  they  keep 
society  alive,  uphold  government,  found  schools, 
build  churches,  send  missionaries  through  the 
lands.  I  have  revered  them  as  boy  and  man,  and 
lived  upon  their  bounty.  I  know  how  great  their 
own  rules  would  make  tliem,  if  they  would  take 
their  rules  into  the  limitless  years  and  along  the 
uppermost  walks  of  life. 

Still  doth  the  soul,  from  its  lone  fastness  high, 
Upon  our  life  a  ruling  effluence  send ; 

And  when  it  fails,  fight  as  we  will,  we  die, 
And  while  it  lasts,  we  cannot  wholly  end. 

in.  This  leads  me  to  remark,  thirdly,  that  the 
good  merchant  will  be  good  towards  God.  He  may 
be  a  merchant  without  this  ;  honest  and  honorable, 
strong  and  wealthy.  But  surely  these  are  not  the 
highest  things  to  be  said  of  a  man.  The  mer- 
chant can  surpass  all  this.  Seeing  that  he  is 
wrong  with  God,  he  will  become  right ;  confessing 
the  wrong,  seeking  forgiveness,  praying  for  strength 
to  do  those  things  which  are  pleasing  in  his  sight. 
The  qualities  whicli  make  the  merchant  success- 
ful in  the  esteem  of  men,  if  carried  to  their  proper 
end,  will  make  him  great  in  goodness.     The  wise 


THE  GOOD  MERCHANT.  93 

merchant  looks  before  him  and  as  far  he  can.  He 
does  not  bound  his  vision  by  seventy  days  ;  nor 
does  he  stop  at  seventy  years  if  he  can  see  beyond 
— and  he  can  see  beyond.  Indeed,  the  years  after 
the  threescore  and  ten  are  more  certain  than 
those  upon  this  side.  He  is  a  man  of  faith.  He 
confides  in  men,  enters  upon  projects  in  which  ab- 
solute certainty  is  impossible  ;  he  sends  his  ships 
beyond  his  sight ;  invests  money  for  a  future 
return ;  anticipates  results  and  works  with  his 
expectations.  He  should  not  be  kept  from  a  godly 
life  because  he  does  not  know  everything  about  it, 
and  has  never  seen  the  Lord  face  to  face  Nor 
should  he  refuse  to  heed  the  teachings  of  God  be- 
cause in  part  they  concern  unseen  things  and 
reach  into  the  world  beyond  the  earth.  He  should 
pass  on  from  what  he  knows  to  what  he  ought  to 
know,  and  let  his  reason  have  free  course.  He  is 
an  honorable  man;  dealing  fairly  by  all,  paying 
that  which  he  ought  to  pay,  meeting  men  in  a 
liberal  and  manly  spirit.  The  same  sense  of 
honor  will  make  him  just  towards  God,  desirous 
to  meet  his  duties  to  him,  carrying  himself  in  a 
manful  and  becoming  manner  towards  his  Cre- 
ator and  his  Father.  It  is  most  becoming  that  he 
should  be  a  man  of  God  in  a  large  and  generous 
way.  The  wise  merchant  seeks  the  best,  or  that 
which  is  best  for  his  purposes,  and  shrewdly 
conducts  his  business  with  reference  to  the  largest 
gains.    He  should  not  stop  when  the  gain  becomes 


91  CxiMBBIBGE  SEBMONS, 

very  large  and  the  good  things  perfect.     Religion 
in  itself,   and  its  return,  "is  more  precious  than 
rubies,"  said  a  man  who  knew  something  both  of 
rubies   and  religion  ;    "  and  all  the    things   thou 
canst  desire  are  not  to  be  compared  unto  her." 
Our  Lord  himself  sought  to  extend  the  approved 
methods  of    business,    and   he  taught   men   how 
far    they  reach.      "The   kingdom    of  heaven   is 
like  unto  a  merchantman  seeking  goodly  pearls ; 
who,  when  he  had  found  one  pearl  of  great  price, 
went  and   sold  all   that  he  had,  and  bought  it." 
The  wise  merchant  is  an  economist.     He  does  not 
work   for   pleasure,  but  for  gain.     From   loss  he 
turns  away.      Hence  the  question  of  the  Gospel 
appeals   to   him  and   impresses  him  ;    a  question 
profound  enough  for  him,  and  simple  enough  for 
his  office  boy,  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he 
shall  gain  the  whole  world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  or 
what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange  for  his  soul?  " 
He  seeks  moreover  for  permanence.      He  prides 
himself  on  the  stability  of  his  business —  "  an  old 
established    house,"    he   likes   to    say.      So    that 
he  can  appreciate   the  force   of  Christ's  appeal ; 
"  Whosoever  heareth  these  sayings  of   mine,  and 
doeth  them,  I  will  liken  him  unto  a  wise  man,  which 
built  his  house  upon  a  rock."      The  shrewd  mer- 
chant  makes   himself    know^n;    chooses    a   place 
among  men,  puts  up  his  sign,  advertises  his  goods, 
lets  himself  be  recognized  by  buyers  and  sellers, 
by  producers  and  consumers,  as  one  engaged  in  his 


THE  GOOD  MERCHANT.  95 

line  of  trade.  Hence  he  will  approve  the  command 
of  Christ,  that  the  Christian  shall  let  his  light  so 
shine  before  men  that  the  light  may  produce  the 
best  effect.  He  knows  the  advantage  of  associa- 
tion for  counsel  and  helpfulness ;  he  has  his 
Exchange  and  his  Board  of  Trade,  to  which  he 
gives,  from  which  he  seeks.  He  sees  therefore  the 
wisdom  of  Christ  in  bringing  Christians  together 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  for  the  furtherance 
of  the  Christian  design  and  for  the  advantage 
of  all. 

With  what  force,  then,  does  Christ  address  him- 
self to  the  wise  merchant,  when  he  asks  him  to 
extend  his  practical  maxims  and  usages,  and  let 
his  wisdom  carry  him  as  far  as  it  can.  This  mer- 
chant who  is  with  us  to-day  looked  very  far 
before  him  ;  he  saw  the  invisible  ;  he  cherished  a 
sense  of  honor  which  brought  him  to  God  ;  he 
strove  to  do  his  duty  before  him,  that  God  might 
be  glorified ;  walking  with  God,  he  sought  to 
secure  the  highest  and  most  permanent  gains,  and 
what  he  received  was  still  the  Lord's.  More  than 
this,  he  knew  his  weakness,  his  failures,  his  faults. 
In  a  fc-imple  truthfulness  he  confessed  his  sins  and 
sought  the  mercy  of  his  God.  To  the  Lord  wlio  had 
redeemed  him,  he  gave  his  life.  Two  and  thirty 
years  old,  he  stood  before  men  in  the  Cluircli  and 
made  confession  of  his  Lord  and  Saviour,  and 
joined  himself  to  others  of  like  character  and  pur- 
pose.     He  sought  what  the  Church  had  to  give. 


96  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

He  gave  what  the  Church  sought  and  he  had 
to  give.  His  piety  was  real ;  more,  it  was 
effective.  It  owed  much  of  its  effectiveness  to  the 
fact  that  it  was  known.  He  opened  his  mouth  and 
quietly  said,  "  I  am  a  Christian."  Therefore  the 
good  which  he  did  and  the  good  which  he  was 
became  a  tribute  to  his  Lord.  Men  thought 
better  of  Christ  and  the  Church  because  he  had 
told  them  that  he  was  following  Christ,  and  they 
saw  that  he  was  in  the  Church  and  of  it.  This 
was  the  business  man  carrying  his  business  habits 
further  on.  This  was  the  wise  merchant  become 
the  good   merchant. 

IV.  I  add,  therefore,  fourthly,  that  the 
good  merchant  will  make  for  himself  a  Chris- 
tian life.  It  will  be  long,  stretching  down 
the  centuries,  and  it  will  begin  here.  It  Avill  be  a 
life  of  obedience.  The  eternal  rules  of  righteous- 
ness will  be  its  law.  The  Lord  will  be  its  master. 
He  will  realize  that  he  has  no  more  power  over 
right  and  wrong  than  he  has  over  the  life  which 
rustles  in  his  grain,  or  the  winds  Avhich  drive  his 
ships  across  the  sea.  He  will  no  more  tamper 
with  the  laws  of  God  than  with  the  coin  of  the 
realm.  It  is  for  him  to  obey.  He  will  do  this 
cheerfully,  because  he  knows  that  it  is  right,  and 
that  the  rule  of  Christ  is  the  rule  of  the  best. 
Thus  honor  and  honesty  are  secure.  He  will  be 
conservative  towards  the  eternal  right.  Methods 
of  business  may  change,  steam  and  lightning  may 


THE  GOOD  MERCHANT.  97 

become  factors  in  it,  its  competitions  may  grow 
more  fierce,  its  demands  more  extortionate.  But 
in  his  mind  truth  will  remain  truth ;  right,  right ; 
honor,  honor.  Novelt3Miiay  play  upon  the  surface 
of  his  business  ;  underneath  will  be  the  old  vigor- 
ous rules  of  righteousness. 

Thus  he  will  have  a  life  of  purity.  His  con- 
science will  sit  at  his  desk  and  stand  by  his 
scales.  His  mother  might  be  his  active  partner 
and  his  father  audit  his  acounts.  He  will  be 
orderly  and  accurate :  intelligent  and  sound. 
This  will  give  him  calmness.  He  may  be  full  of 
enterprise,  but  he  will  behave  as  a  man  who  has 
himself  well  in  hand,  and  is  prepared  against  sur- 
prises.    He  will  enjoy  the  quiet 

Of  toil  unsevered  from  tranquility  ; 
Of  labor,  that  in  lasting  fruit  outgrows 
Far  noisier  schemes,  acconiplish'd  in  repose, 
Too  great  for  haste,  too  high  for  rivalry. 

Such  a  life  must  be  generous.  It  will  be  put  to 
the  proof.  Its  patience  will  be  tried,  its  passion 
tested.  Forbearance  and  charity  will  often  be 
needed.  Broad  opportunities  of  usefulness  will 
open  on  every  hand.  Many  claimants  will  ask  a 
share  of  his  gains.  He  will  need  all  his  discre- 
tion. But  he  will  know  that  business  is  not  an 
end  unto  itself,  and  that  the  value  of  money  is  in 
that  which  can  be  done  with  it.  He  will  give  by 
principle  and  with  a  free  hand.     The  main  course 


98  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

of  his  life  will  be  for  the  common  good.  But 
many  subordinate  interests  will  also  be  regarded. 
He  will  sow  his  rich  fields  for  the  large  harvest; 
and  from  his  overflowing  hand  some  seed  will  fall 
at  the  wayside  for  the  birds. 

Under  such  training,  wherein  he  trains  himself, 
he  will  increase  in  goodness.  His  life  will  rise  as  it 
lengthens.  He  will  grow  into  the  image  of  his 
Redeemer,  and  his  Lord,  and  share  his  life.  Wis- 
dom will  endow  him.  For  "  length  of  days  is  in 
her  right  hand ;  and  in  her  left  hand  riches  and 
honor."  He  will  enjoy  life.  For  "  her  ways  are 
ways  of  pleasantness,  and  all  her  paths  are  peace." 
He  will  increase  in  strength.  For  "  she  is  a  tree 
of  life  to  all  that  lay  hold  upon  her."  He  will  be 
received  on  high  when  he  goes  hence.  "  For 
whosoever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I 
also  confess  before  my  Father  whicli  is  in  heaven." 
Is  the  picture  which  my  unskilful  hand  has 
drawn,  and  embellished  with  touches  from  the 
king's  fingers,  — is  it  like  the  man  ? 

Obedient,  the  law  of  the  Lord  was  his  law, 
and  the  statutes  of  God  were  his  song.  He 
learned  obedience  in  his  boyhood ;  and  with  it  he 
made  his  manhood  strong.  His  was  the  soul  of 
honor.  His  nature  was  large  and  his  principles 
were  free,  but  you  knew  where  you  would  find 
him.  He  loved  truth  the  better  because  it  was 
old,  and  ancestral  piety  was  dear  to  him.  What 
we  call  conservatism,  it  is  better  in  him  to  call 


THE  GOOD  MERCHANT.  99 

truthfulness  :  loyalty  to  the  right  —  the  unaltera- 
ble right.    He  was  one  man.    He  had  his  house,  his 
business,  his  society ;  but  lie  was  the  same  man  in 
all :  the  Christian  gentleman.      He  planned  a  full 
life,    and   went   on  to  construct  it.     The  centre 
was    Christ :    the    circle    held    his    children,   his 
neighbors,    his   associates   and   the    Church.     He 
said  not  over  much;   but  what  he  said  was  with 
power  from  the  man  behind  it.     He  spoke  often 
enough  to  make  men  sure  that  he  was  a  Christian, 
then    he   went    forward    with    Christian     deeds. 
Nature  had  been  generous,  but  the  man  had  been 
just.     There  was  more  than  nature  in  his  calm- 
ness and  courtesy.     Let  us  do  credit  to  his  con- 
science and  his  Avill.     The  winds  passed  over  him 
as  over  other  men,  and  sometimes  the  sea  was 
rough.     Yet    he    went    steadily   on    and    safely. 
There  was  a  man  in  the  sliip.     One  of  our  New 
England  writers  has  remarked,  "  When  I  see  a  man 
with   serene   countenance,  it   looks   like    a   great 
leisure  that  he  enjoys  ;  but  in  realit}^  he  sails  on 
no  summer's  sea.     Tliis  steady  sailing  comes  of  a 
heavy  hand  on  the  tiller,"     There  was   delibera- 
tion in  his  life.     He  knew  what  he  would  do  and 
how  he  meant  to  do  it.     A  calm  assurance  of  sub- 
stantial things  made  him  firm  and  robust.     The 
results  are  in  keeping  with  the  design.     Given  such 
purposes  and  principles,  and  the  life  is  the  natu- 
ral   consequence.     He    illustrates    Avhat    another 
has  written  :  "  Sow  an  act,  and  you  reap  a  liabit. 


100  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

Sow  a  IiaLit,  and  you  rea^^  a  character.  Sow  a 
character,  and  you  reap  a  destiny." 

But  the  divine  part  of  this  life  is  its  distinctive 
feature.  Once  more  let  us  assert  it.  This  man  was 
born  of  God.  The  author  of  his  faith  and  charity 
is  divine.  He  knew  his  Father.  He  loved  him. 
He  delighted  to  please  him.  His  Father  delighted 
in  him  and  advanced  him  in  wisdom  and  honor. 
"  Happy  is  the  man  that  findeth  wisdom,  and  the 
man  that  getteth  understanding  ;  "  "  That  friend 
of  mine  who  lives  in  God." 

He  trusted  in  the  grace  of  God.  He  bowed  at  the 
manger  with  his  gold  and  franldncense.  He  knelt 
at  the  cross  with  his  penitence  and  faith.  He 
stood  at  the  open  sepulchre  with  his  love  and  his 
life.  He  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  Com- 
forter. He  walked  with  Christ  and  went  pre- 
pared unto  the  place  prepared.  Therefore  while 
we  are  sad, the  voice  from  out  the  skies  is  saying, 
'Blessed"  —  "Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in 
the  Lord."  For  they  are  not  dead ;  "  they  rest." 
They  have  not  parted  from  their  business ;  "  their 
works  do  follow  them."  We  speak  our  loving 
praise.  We  whisper  our  lament.  We  strain  our 
ej^es  to  look  uip  the  glittering  path  and  through 
the  radiant  door  into  the  brightness  and  blessed- 
ness which  are  forever.  There  are  glory  and  honor 
and  immortality. 

There  they  stand,  true  men  who  have  gone  up 
from  the  earth,  and  they  are  pillars  in  the  temple 


THE  GOOD  MEBCIIANT.  IQl 

of  God.     They  behold  their  Lord  and   are  like 
him,  for  they  see  him  as  he  is. 

Saints  in  gloiy,  we  together, 
Know  the  song  that  ceases  never ; 
Song  of  songs,  Thou  art,  O  Saviour, 
All  that  endless  day. 

O  the  unsearchable  Redeemer  ! 
Shoreless  Ocean,  sounded  never  ! 
Yesterday,  to-day,  forever, 
Jesus  Christ,  the  same ! 


VI. 
WHY  STAND  YE  GAZING? 


Scripture  Lesson  :    Revelation   i. 

Text:    Why  stand  ye  gazing  up  into  heaven  ?     Acts    i  :  2. 

THE  answer  was  obvious.  These  men  had 
come  from  Jerusalem  to  the  mount  called 
Olivet,  with  one  who  had  led  them  all  the  way, 
and  who,  while  he  was  talking  with  them,  stretched 
his  hands  over  them  in  blessing,  and  while  he 
blessed  them,  suddenly  rose  from  the  ground  and 
ascended  until  a  cloud  received  him  out  of  their 
sight.  The}'  gazed  after  him  as  long  as  they  could 
see  him  ;  and  when  he  had  vanished,  naturally 
their  eyes  remained  fixed  upon  the  cloud  into 
which  he  had  entered.  "  Why  stand  ye  gazing 
up  into  heaven  ? "  One  woukl  think  that  the 
angel  who  asked  the  question  might  have  allowed 
them  a  few  minutes  of  rapturous  longing  as  they 
looked  after  him  who  was  more  than  all  the  world 
to  them.  Yet  it  seems,  when  we  read  the  New 
Testament,  as  if  it  were  not  meant  that  the  disci- 
ples should  enjoy  these  rare  visions.  Three  of 
these  men  had  gone  up  a  mountain  at  the  north, 

102 


WIIV  STAND  YE  GAZING?  103 

led  by  the  same  One,  and  a  glory  exceeding  bright 
had  shone  around  about  him,  and  there  had  come 
two  men  in  the  glory  to  talk  with  him.  The  dis- 
ciples at  last  were  brought  to  the  very  gate  of 
heaven.  It  was  worth  while  to  be  a  disciple  if 
this  could  be  the  reward.  While  they  looked  and 
enjoyed,  and  desired  that  they  might  build  three 
tents  and  remain  there,  suddenly  a  cloud  shut  out 
the  whole  vision  from  their  gaze  ;  they  heard  a 
voice  speaking  out  of  the  cloud ;  they  fell  upon 
their  faces  afraid,  and  presently  they  were  led 
down  out  of  the  brightness  into  the  darkness  and 
misery  of  the  world.  Does  it  mean  that  God  will 
not  let  us  see  the  glory  before  the  time  ?  Does  it 
mean  that  heaven  is  fearful  lest  we  should  have 
too  much  of  its  delight  while  we  possess  the  earth 
which  is  now  our  dwelling-place  ? 

Angels  hold  men  to  their  place  and  work.  When 
the  women  come  to  anoint  the  Lord  with  spices 
and  embalm  him  with  the  last  act  of  their  devotion 
for  his  long  slumber,  looking  forward  out  of  the 
sorrow  of  the  night  to  the  few  moments  which 
they  might  have  with  him  in  the  sacred  solitude 
of  the  garden,  before  they  began  the  holy  offices 
which  they  were  to  perform, angels  interrupted  the 
course  of  their  loving  thoughts  —  "  Why  seek  ye 
the  living  among  the  dead?  Go  quickl}-,  and  tell 
his  disciples  that  he  is  risen  from  the  dead." 
Truly,  there  were  surrounding  the  friends  of  our 
Lord    the     guardian   angels    of    God's    presence, 


104  CAMBEIBGE  SEBMONS. 

coming  to  tliem  from  time  to  time  to  help  tliem, 
certainly  coming  to  them  when  there  was  much 
danger  that  they  would  be  unduly  exalted  and 
forget  that  they  belonged  in  this  world,  that  their 
life  was  here,  that  they  were  to  look  down  into 
the  wants  of  the  world,  and  to  do  the  work  which 
God  had  given  them.  Perhaps  we  find  in  this 
coming,  more  than  anywhere  else,  the  meaning  of 
that  phrase  which  is  so  familiar  to  our  thoughts 
and  so  precious  in  our  hopes,  "  ministering  spirits/' 

When  these  men  come  down  from  the  Mount, 
they  are  not  the  men  who  went  up.  Thej^  are  not 
so  rich,  it  may  be  said,  for  they  have  lost  their 
great  teacher,  their  leader,  their  master.  They 
are  richer,  it  were  better  to  say,  because  he  who  was 
their  Lord  has  gone  up  on  high,  and  has  taken  to 
himself  his  greater  power.  Life  never  can  be  the 
same  to  them  again,  because  one  who  is  their  life 
has  gone  to  his  own  place,  a  place  full  of  blessed- 
ness and  of  life.  To  have  one's  best  friend  in 
heaven  sanctifies  the  earth.  To  have  one's  Lord 
at  the  throne  makes  it  easier  to  obey  here.  To 
have  the  Intercessor  there  makes  it  easier  to  pray 
here.  To  have  one  there  who  is  able  to  give  the 
Comforter  to  men  makes  it  easier  to  bear  the 
trouble  of  this  life, and  to  strengthen  ourselves  for 
the  service  which  is  required  at  our  hands. 

These  disciples  needed  to  be  instructed  in  the 
meaning  of  the  ascension  of  the  Lord.  "Why 
stand  ye  gazing  "  recalled  them  to  the  true  sig- 


WHY  STAND  YE  GAZING  f  105 

nificance  of  this  act  which  consummates  our  Lord's 
earthl}'  life.  It  was  tlie  gaze  of  Avoiider  ;  they 
were  surprised  tliat  he  had  gone  up.  Let  them 
remember  that  he  had  just  said,  ''  I  am  to  ascend." 
"  I  ascend  unto  my  Father  and  your  Father,  and 
to  my  God  and  your  God."  It  was  the  look  of 
bereavement;  yet  it  need  not  have  been.  Rather 
it  should  have  been  one  of  gladness  to  find  that 
Christ  had  gone  out  of  his  humiliation  into  his 
glory.  They  should  have  recalled  his  word  of 
promise,  that  he  would  be  with  his  disciples,  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world  ;  and  that  other  word, 
tliat  he  would  give  the  Hol}^  Spirit  to  abide  with 
men  even  while  they  were  in  this  world.  It  was 
a  look  of  longing ;  they  wanted  him  back  again. 
There  was  that  strange  confusion  of  faith  and 
desire  which  is  so  common;  which  makes  us  long 
with  a  longing  that  cannot  be  expressed  for  the 
presence,  for  the  voice,  of  those  who  have  gone 
out  of  our  sight ;  yet  makes  us  give  thanks  every 
morning  and  night  for  the  rest  and  the  bliss  which 
have  come  to  them.  The  desire  of  these  disciples 
changes  into  confidence  when  they  recall  the 
promise  of  the  Lord  as  it  is  repeated  by  the  angel : 
'-'•  This  same  Jesus  which  is  taken  up  from  you 
into  heaven,  shall  so  come  in  like  manner  as  ye 
have  seen  him  go  into  heaven." 

This  would  almost  seem  a  reason  why  the  men 
should  stand  gazing  up  into  heaven,  watching  for 
his  return.     What  is  the  reason,  then,  of  this  inter- 


106  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

ruptioii  ?  Why  are  they  not  alloAved  to  look  up 
into  the  place  out  of  which  their  Lord  shall  pres- 
ently come  ?  Because  the  Lord  is  not  to  come 
presently.  One  da}^  is  as  a  thousand  years  with 
him,  and  a  thousand  years  are  as  one  day.  They 
are  not  able  to  stand  waiting  and  looking  until 
he  shall  come.  Phj^sical  necessities,  the  very 
weariness  of  their  bodies,  the  very  hunger  which 
would  oppress  them,  must  soon  draw  their  gaze 
down  from  the  clouds  and  send  them  back  into 
the  world.  They  are  not  able  to  stay  upon  the 
mountain  ;  let  them  come  down,  not  of  necessity, 
but  of  their  own  will. 

Again,  they  are  not  to  stand  gazing  up  into 
heaven,  because  the  work  which  they  are  to  do 
lies  not  in  heaven,  but  below  them,  in  the  world. 
These  facts  which  have  entered  into  their  experi- 
ence have  been  given  that  they  might  become  the 
possession  of  the  world.  It  is  interesting  to  see 
how  often  the  smallest  causes  which  work  in  our 
life  move  hand  in  hand  with  the  greatest  causes 
and  the  highest  obligations  which  enter  into  our 
career.  Common  hunger  and  vulgar  weariness 
would  send  men  from  the  mountain  into  the  world, 
and  the  command  of  Christ,  with  the  grandest 
commission  ever  given  to  men,  would  have  the 
same  result.  It  recalls  to  mind,  although  it  is  not 
strictly  analogous,  that  it  was  out  of  the  necessi- 
ties of  men  that  Christ  wrought  his  great  works  of 
mercy.     He  fed  the  multitudes  by  divine  power 


WHY  STAND  YE  GAZING?  107 

because  they  were  hungry ;  and  tlie  need  of  men 
as  really  worked  for  their  relief  as  the  power  of 
God.  He  raised  men  from  the  dead  because  they 
were  dead  ;  and  the  death  of  men  becanie  one  of 
the  forces  as  really  as  the  power  which  called  them 
from  their  long  sleep.  So  here,  the  common  duties 
and  wants  of  men,  which  would  carry  them  back 
into  the  world  in  which  they  belonged,  would 
work  together  with  that  command  of  Christ  which 
was  their  commission  and  the  warrant  of  their 
discipleship. 

The  sight  of  their  ascending  Lord  would 
strengthen  his  disciples  for  their  work,  his  work. 
It  has  been  often  seen  that,  when  God  has  called 
men  to  great  service,  he  has  given  them  a  vision 
of  himself  and  let  them  hear  his  voice.  He  spoke 
to  ]Moses  out  of  tlie  bush,  and  to  Paul  at  the  gate  of 
Damascus.  He  has  given  men  a  sight  of  his  glory, 
that  they  might  glorify  the  world  with  the  special 
revelation  which  had  been  made  to  them. 

Let  us  mark,  then,  the  order  of  service  ;  for  it  is 
of  importance  that  we  preserve  it.  We  look  upon 
the  disciples  as  exceptional  men,  with  an  excep- 
tional work.  We  scarcely  dare  to  think  of  their 
work  or  experience  as  like  our  own.  They  had 
marvellous  revelations,  and  a  remarkable  furnish- 
ing. But  they  received  power  in  connection  with 
certain  grand  facts  which  were  to  be  the  strength 
of  their  lives.  Li  this  how  far  below  them  do  we 
stand?     For  we  have  the  same  facts  and  the  same 


108  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

Holy  Spirit.  It  is  to  be  noted  that  mucli  of  the 
strength  with  which  Christ  furnishes  men  is  the 
power  of  external  facts,  with  which  they  have 
nothing  to  do  as  causing  them,  or  deserving  them, 
or  expecting  them ;  but  certain  great  verities 
which  are  wrought  out  by  God,  and  which  they 
are  to  take,  and  by  means  of  them  make  their  will, 
their  conscience,  and  their  life  strong  and  efficient. 
Thus,  if  you  take  this  fact  of  our  Lord's  ascension, 
it  becomes  a  power  in  these  men's  lives,  because 
they  think  of  the  glory  of  him  who  has  gone  ;  and 
it  gives  a  wonderful  authority  to  his  words ;  it  gives 
a  new  force  to  the  love  which  they  have  for  him. 
Everything  which  he  did  is  magnified  before  them 
by  this  glory,  which  sheds  its  brightness  upon  his 
whole  life.  For  Ave  join  with  this  all  our  Lord's 
life.  His  ascension  is  simply  one  in  a  series  of 
facts.  It  does  not  seem  the  most  important ;  yet 
it  is  important  as  belonging  to  a  system  of  events, 
beginning  with  the  incarnation,  running  through 
the  display  of  his  divine  power  in  miracle,  and 
quite  as  much  in  his  instruction  and  promise,  in- 
cluding the  height  and  depth  of  divine  grace  when 
he  gave  himself  in  sacrifice  and  entered  the  sepul- 
chre, to  come  forth  in  power  when  he  burst  the 
bands  of  death  and  the  grave,  and  stood  alive 
among  men  ;  taking  ns  at  last  to  the  Mount  of 
Olives,  when  he  rises  into  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

These  are  not  things  which  we  have  done,  or 
which  God  accomplishes  within  our  heart ;   they 


WHY  STAND  YE  GAZING?  109 

are  things  which  God  works  outside  of  us  — out  of 
doors,  if  I  may  say  so  —  things  which  we  are  to  look 
upon  and  to  take  as  the  material  out  of  which  we 
are  to  build  up  our  thought  and  life.  It  is  to  be 
to  us  a  verity  that  Christ  rose  from  the  dead,  and 
that  verity  is  to  control  our  life  ;  it  is  to  become  a 
part  of  our  mind,  and  of  our  moral  faculties  ;  it  is 
to  enter  into  our  reason  ;  it  is  to  touch  our  hands, 
and  our  feet,  and  our  lips  ;  and  we  are  to  be  differ- 
ent in  the  commonest  things  which  we  do,  from  the 
fact  that  Christ  died  for  us  and  rose  from  the 
dead. 

In  this  way  God  instructs  men.  For  the  work 
of  the  disciples,  it  may  not  seem  to  be  essential  that 
they  should  see  Christ  mount  into  the  clouds  of 
heaven.  But  it  was  essential  that  they  should  see 
him,  and  that  ail  the  fabric  of  their  thought  and 
life  should  be  affected  by  that  fact.  They  might, 
indeed,  repeat  the  story  of  Christ's  life ;  they  miglit 
tell  of  his  miracles ;  they  might  renew  his  teachings 
among  men  ;  they  might  be  honest  and  truthful, 
and  fill  up  the  measure  of  a  good  man's  career  in 
the  world  ;  but  tiie  life  which  tliey  were  to  live, 
the  work  wliich  they  were  to  do,  tliey  could  not 
live  and  they  could  not  do,  except  as  these  facts 
entered  into  tlieir  thoughts,  and  were  absorbed  into 
their  feeling,  that  Clirist  had  ascended  into  his 
glory;  that  Clirist  had  risen  from  tlie  dead;  tliat 
Christ  had  died  for  them  ;  that  Christ  had  become 
incarnate   for  them.     It  is  impossible  that  these 


110  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

things  should  become  a  part  of  the  staple  of  any 
man's  life,  and  the  whole  life  not  be  affected,  and 
elevated,  and  the  man  strengthened  to  live  by  the 
power  of  these  divine  truths. 

This  was  the  method  of  our  Lord's  instruction 
to  men.  Certainly  so  much  as  this  was  true,  that 
he  was  not  satisfied  to  teach  them  merely  with  the 
word  of  his  lips  or  by  an  inspiration  in  their 
minds.  He  taught  them,  as  he  teaches  you  and 
me,  by  events.  Hence  he  let  them  behold  his 
incarnation;  he  let  them  see  divine  power  raising 
the  dead;  he  let  them  see  him  coming  forth  out 
of  the  sepulchre  alive  ;  he  let  them,  with  their 
own  eyes,  see  him  ascend  into  the  clouds  of 
heaven  ;  that,  taking  these  things,  they  might  out 
of  them  learn  who  he  was  and  why  he  was  here, 
and  what  it  was  to  be  his  disciples,  and  what  the 
gift  was  which  he  gave  to  them  and  which  through 
them  he  was  to  give  to  the  world. 

We  stand  related  to  these  facts  precisely  as  the 
disciples  stood.  We  stand  in  the  same  place. 
We  stand  in  that  interval  of  God's  providence 
which  has  not  been  closed  since  the  day  of  Christ's 
ascension  ;  that  period  which  was  often  described 
by  our  Lord,  and  in  many  different  ways,  as  the 
time  between  his  vanishing  from  the  world  and  his 
returning  to  the  world ;  an  interval  wherein  we 
are  to  take  these  things  of  Christ  and  to  use  them 
for  the  world's  good.  The  question  which  the 
angels  asked  of  the  disciples  on  the  mount  of  the 


WHY  STAND  YE  GAZING?  HI 

Ascension,  and  which    I   liave   brought   to   your 
notice  this  morning,  reminds   us    that   it   is    not 
enough  for  any  man  to  gaze  at  these  facts  ;  it  is 
not  enough  for  us  to  believe  them,  to  think  about 
them,  to    enjoy  them.     It    is  not  enough  in  our 
common  work  for  a  man  to  gaze  at  his  store,  to 
gaze  at  the  opportunities  which  are  before  him,  at 
the   books  wdiich  he   might  read,  and  the   world 
which  he  might  study,  and  the   duties  which  he 
might  perform.     All  this  comes  to  nothing,  and 
we  weary  of  the  dreamers,  the  visionary  men  who 
have  a  great  prospect  of  something  to  which  they 
never  attain,  and  who,  stirred  by  vain  hopes,  are 
unwilling  to  put  their  hands  to  the  common  things 
which  lie  at  tlieir  feet.     We  say  to  a  man  —  and 
how  often   and   how  truly  we   say  it  —  you  will 
never  do  the  distant  thing  until  yoii  do  the  near; 
you  never  will  attain  unto  the  upper  glory  unless 
you  are  willing  to  stand  here  upon  tliis  common 
rough,and  rugged  earth, and  do  the  first  duty,  and 
on   that  first  duty  mount   to   something   higher. 
Gazing  at  duty  and  dreaming   and   singing   and 
hoping  and  believing,  all  come  to  nothing,  unless 
one  puts  his  hand  to  the  work  and  takes  up,  in 
substantial  earnest,  that  which  God  has  given  him 
to  do.     There  come  times  in    life    when    success 
depends   not   onl}^  upon    the   recognition   of  this 
principle,  but  upon  the  speedy  apprehension  of  it. 
There  are  men  who  work  out  their  success  —  and 
perhaps  all  men  work  out  their  success  in  this  way 


112  CA2IBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

who  have  it  at  all  —  by  a  certain  ability,  which  is 
almost  genius,  to  recognize  the  right  thing  to  do ; 
the  facts  which  they  are  to  take  into  their  life  ;  and 
then  quickly  to  take  them  up.  I  almost  think  jon 
could  describe  the  difference  between  a  successful 
man  and  an  unsuccessful  man  at  that  single  point. 
The  successful  man  is  a  man  who  does  not  gaze, 
but  who  does.  Still,  that  does  not  quite  closely 
enough  define  him.  I  should  say  that  the  success- 
ful man  is  a  man  who  not  only  does,  but  does 
quickly.  He  makes  up  his  mind  readily ;  and 
having  once  made  it  up,  he  cleaves  to  his  purpose, 
not  gazing  back,  wishing  he  had  made  another 
choice,  but  keeping  to  that  which  he  has  made 
with  a  certain  dogged  perseverance  which  fastens 
the  whole  force  of  his  hands  and  of  his  heart  upon 
his  work,  and  leaves  him  no  leisure  for  idle  dream- 
ing or  useless  regrets. 

One  of  the  shrewdest  business  men  I  ever  knew 
told  me  that  when  a  transaction  had  passed  out  of 
his  hands,  though  it  might  appear  that  he  liad  lost 
by  the  method  in  which  he  had  made  it,  he  never 
mourned  over  it,  or  wished  that  he  had  waited 
another  day  ;  he  simply  accepted  it  as  a  fact  behind 
him  which  it  was  of  no  profit  for  him  to  gaze  upon, 
and  went  on  to  make  up  in  to-da}^  and  to-morrow 
for  the  losses  of  yesterday.  It  is  a  wise  principle, 
not  to  gaze  backwards  and  wish  we  had  done 
something  else,  not  to  gaze  forward  and  wish  we 
had  something  else,  but  to  put  ourselves  in  this 


WHY  STAND  YE  GAZING?  113 

interval  where  we  stand  to  the  doing  of  that  which 
is  our  present  duty. 

The  present  duty  of  men  is  to  do  the  will  of  God  ; 
and  the  will  of  God  comes  to  us,  not  in  a  voice  out 
of  heaven  merely ;  not  in  a  voice  from  our  own 
hearts  merely  ;  but  the  will  of  God  comes  to  us  in 
resounding  syllables  which  every  man  can  read. 
You  can  make  out  the  letters  one  by  one  until  you 
have  the  word  ;  and  these  are  the  letters  of  the 
will  of  God  which  men  are  to  hear  and  which  men 
are  to  do  to-day  :  "  Incarnation,"  ''  Life,"  ''  Death," 
"  Resurrection,"  "  Ascension  ;  "  and  these  letters 
spell  out  the  divine  thought  and  the  everlasting 
purpose  of  every  truly  successful  man.  But  it  will 
not  serve  us  to  gaze  at  these  things ;  to  wonder 
at  the  glories  of  the  manger  and  where  it  was  ;  to 
cross  the  seas  that  we  may  place  our  devotion  in 
the  sepulchre  which  we  cannot  find.  But  we  are 
to  take  the  facts  and  to  do  our  business  in  the 
power  of  them  ;  to  carry  the  resurrection  of  Christ 
into  our  daily  work ;  to  take  the  ascension  of 
Christ  down  into  our  studying  and  housekeeping, 
and  all  which  engages  our  life,  until  we  make  up  our 
thoughts  and  our  purposes  with  these  stupendous 
and  divine  factors  which  are  the  everlastincr  veri- 
ties. 

No  man  has  made  himself  strong  for  his  work 
who  has  not  looked  up  into  the  heavens ;  and  no 
man  has  looked  up  into  the  heavens  to  much  pur- 
pose who  has  not  come  down  from  his  gazing  to 


114  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

his  work  in  this  world.  We  are  permitted  to  see 
the  risen  Christ  and  to  believe  in  him;  and  then, 
believing  him,  to  follow  him. 

If  you  read  the  Lord's  parables,  you  will  find 
that  again  and-  again  he  refers  to  this  interval  in 
which  we  are  living.  Look,  for  instance,  at  his 
parable  of  the  talents,  or  the  parable  of  the  pounds. 
A  certain  man  takes  his  money  and  calls  his  ser- 
vants, and  talks  with  them  concerning  it ;  he  puts 
the  money  into  their  hands,  and  goes  into  a  far 
country  to  return.  They  know  he  is  to  return ; 
they  understand  that  his  money  is  to  be  used. 
Perhaps  they  watch  his  receding  form,  and  stare 
after  him  when  lie  is  lost  to  sight.  They  wonder 
where  he  has  gone,  and  when  he  will  come  back, 
and  they  go  home  to  talk  about  his  goodness  and 
kindness,  and  they  turn  the  money  over  and  over. 
Presently  they  begin  to  sing  songs  to  this  absent 
friend ;  to  praise  him,  the  most  generous  of  all  men. 
One  man,  finally,  taking  liis  pound  which  is  so 
precious,  wraps  it  in  a  napkin  that  no  harm  may 
come  to  it,  and  that  it  may  be  ready  when  the 
Lord  shall  return.  Another,  fearful  of  such  secu- 
rity, digs  a  hole  in  the  ground  and  buries  his 
money,  that  it  may  be  safe  when  the  Lord  comes 
back.  Is  that  the  way  to  watch  for  the  coming  of 
the  Lord  ?  Is  that  the  meaning  of  this  trust  of 
talents  and  of  jDOunds  ? 

But  what  are  the  talents  and  the  pounds?  The 
opportunities  of  life,  the  privileges  of  life;     our 


WHY  STAND  YE  GAZING?  115 

time  and  our  ability.  Yes,  but  there  are  other 
treasures.  The  real  talents  and  the  real  pounds 
are  these  :  The  incarnation  of  God  ;  the  crucifixion 
of  Christ ;  the  resurrection  of  Christ ;  the  ascension 
of  Christ ;  the  coming  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  of 
the  things  of  Christ  and  show  them  unto  us. 
These  are  talents  and  pounds  which  we  are  to  use 
until  the  Lord  comes  back  to  reckon  with  us. 
Have  we  nothing  to  show  him  in  that  day  but  a 
little  more  character  which  we  have  gained,  a  little 
more  influence  we  have  acquired  ?  He  may  well 
ask,  ''  What  have  you  done  with  my  resurrection? 
Is  that  truth  larger  by  that  which  you  have  done 
Avitli  it?  Show  me  where  my  resurrection  has 
gone  down  into  your  study  and  pervaded  it.  Show 
me  where  my  ascension  has  entered  into  your 
thoughts  and  borne  them  up  to  higher  and  holier 
things." 

So  it  was  when  the  lord  planted  a  vineyard  and 
let  it  out  to  liusbandmen,  and  went  his  way  into  a 
far  country  to  receive  for  himself  a  kingdom  and 
to  return.  It  was  a  fine  vineyard.  He  had  built 
a  tower  in  it,  and  a  wine-press ;  he  had  prepared 
everything  for  the  vintage.  Then  he  went  liis 
way.  Tiiere  were  the  husbandmen  with  liis  inter- 
ests in  their  charge.  Had  they  nothing  to  do  but 
to  walk  to  and  fro  and  see  what  a  beautiful  vine- 
yard it  was ;  to  comment  upon  the  architecture  of 
the  tower  and  the  nature  of  its  foundation  ;  to 
form  elaborate  calculations  how  long  it  would  last, 


116  CA2I BRIDGE  SERMONS. 

and  how  many  men  would  probabl}"  be  killed  if  it 
should  fall?  To  speculate  upon  the  prospect  of 
fruitage  if  the  men  did  nothing  but  trust  to  the 
sun  and  rain  ?  Is  that  the  way  in  which  the  hus- 
bandmen are  to  use  the  vineyard  ?  They  do  so,  I 
know.  Such  a  method  has  higli  practical  commen- 
dation. There  are  many  men  who  seem  to  be 
doing  nothing  in  God's  vinej^ard  except  to  admire 
it  and  to  theorize  upon  it.  Surel}',  the  wise  hus- 
bandmen are  those  who  use  the  grounds,  enlarge 
the  quantity  of  the  grapes,  and  bring  forth  the 
wine  in  its  season.  This  is  the  preparation  for  the 
owner ;  not  the  gazing,  but  the  doing.  What  is 
the  vineyard  to-day?  What  is  it  we  are  to  do? 
We  are  to  be  more  prudent  and  industrious ;  we 
are  to  study  harder ;  we  are  to  elevate  our  thought, 
and  to  be  more  rational  and  conscientious  —  cer- 
tainly we  are  to  do  these  things.  But  will  men 
bring  forth  the  abounding  fruits  of  the  vineyard 
by  that  process?  Nay;  the  powers  by  which  w^e 
are  to  do  the  work  in  the  vinej^ard  until  the  Lord 
comes,  are  such  truths  as  I  have  named:  Christ's 
life  among  men ;  Christ's  redemption  of  men  ;  his 
resurrection  and  his  ascension.  If  we  work  these 
into  our  thoughts,  and  into  our  motives,  and  into 
our  lives,  by  and  by  the  heavy  clusters  shall  hang 
upon  the  vine,  and  the  Lord  of  the  vineyard 
returning,  shall  greet  us  with  his  "good  and  faith- 
ful." 

I  want  to  present  this  to  you  to-day,  and  to  my 


WHY  tiTANB  YE  GAZING  f  WJ 

own  heart,  as  a  lesson  of  encouragement.  Life  is 
too  liarcl  for  any  man  to  make  it  harder  tlian  is 
necessary  ;  and  the  duties  which  are  upon  us  are 
too  exacting  for  any  man  to  try  to  do  them  with 
insufficient  strength  and  imperfect  appliances. 
We  are  not  asked  to  make  up  a  Christian  life  in 
our  own  strength,  or  in  the  strength  of  the  Church. 
God  is  better  than  that.  lie  gives  us  the  very 
presence  of  himself  in  the  world,  that  we  may  be 
Christians ;  he  gives  us  the  very  redemption  of 
his  Son  ;  he  grants  us  the  resurrection  of  his  Son 
and  his  ascension  —  the  divinest  powers  which  ever 
wrought  in  the  universe,  so  far  as  we  have  any 
knowledge  —  to  the  end  that  we  may  be  God's 
children,  and  may  do  the  work  of  God.  I  pray 
3-0 u  to  see,  that  as  long  as  we  stand  gazing  at 
these  things  they  do  us  very  little  good.  There 
are,  I  suppose,  men  who  make  a  merit  of  believing 
that  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  :  they  might  as 
well  make  a  merit  of  believing  in  the  transit  of 
Venus.  It  is  of  small  consequence  whether  you 
believe  that  Christ  rose  from  the  dead  or  not, 
unless  you  take  that  fact  down  into  your  heart; 
take  it  into  your  will  and  make  your  will  stronger 
by  it ;  take  it  into  your  life  and  live  by  it  from 
day  to  day.  It  is  only  as  the  resurrection  becomes 
a  power  within  our  own  power  that  it  works  out 
within  us  the  peaceable  fruits  of  God's  purposes  in 
man's  righteousness. 

This  is  what  the  world  needs  of  us,  brethren. 


118  CA3IB RIDGE  SEIiMONS. 

It  is  what  we  need,  first  of  all,  to  receive  these 
truths  into  onr  own  thought  and  life,  penitently, 
humbly,  obediently  ;  to  receive  the  risen  and 
ascended  Christ  as  our  Lord  and  our  Saviour; 
to  take  strong  and  personal  hold  upon  the  divine 
and  everlasting  verities  of  his  life,  and  then  in 
the  power  of  them,  to  go  forth  and  do  our  work. 
I  say  this  is  what  the  world  wants  at  our  hands. 
So  far  as  I  can  see,  it  is  almost  the  only  thing 
the  world  needs  very  much.  I  fail  to  see  any- 
thing that  the  world  wants  to-day,  which  is  any 
great  necessity  compared  with  its  need  of  these 
truths  which  God  gave  to  men  that  they  might 
be  God's  men.  You  can  give  the  world  the  bene- 
fit of  your  study ;  you  can  add  the  result  of  your 
invention  and  discovery;  you  can  give  your 
industry  and  the  service  of  your  daily  life ;  and 
undoubtedly  all  that  would  do  good.  But  there 
are  many  men  doing  the  same  thing,  and  there 
always  will  be.  The  world  is  not  very  poor 
from  lack  of  learning  to-day ;  nor  from  lack  of 
mechanics,  and  merchants,  and  professional  men  of 
all  kinds.  It  is  not  a  very  great  gift  to  the  world 
when  one  gives  to  it  another  commonplace  and 
earthly  life.  The  great  thing  the  world  wants, 
again,  is  not  a  change  in  our  mechanism  ;  new 
appliances,  new  organizations  in  the  Church  and 
in  society;  new  methods  which  shall  be  filled  with 
more  energy.  I  grant  that  all  these  things  may 
do  good  —  I  would  not  underrate  them  ;  but  they 


WUY  STAND  YE  GAZING?  119 

never  can  do  the  grand  work.  The  world  can  roll 
on  quite  well  without  them.  The  great  thing  the 
world  wants  to-day  is  the  resurrection  of  Christ  as 
a  power  in  our  streets,  in  our  homes,  and  in  all 
our  work.  It  needs  the  glory  of  the  ascension 
of  Christ,  until  men  trade  with  a  bright  cloud 
over  their  heads.  We  are  to  bear  the  troubles  of 
life  and  indulge  in  its  hopes,  and  live  and  die,  car- 
ried up  and  carried  forward  on  the  wings  of  these 
grand  realities,  saying,  "I  have  a  Saviour,  I  have 
a  Lord,  who  bears  me  on  his  heart  before  the 
throne  of  God;  who  is  my  keeper,  my  shepherd, 
and  who  presently,  in  an  hour  when  I  may  not 
think  of  it,  shall  come  to  ask  what  I  have  done 
with  the  talent  of  the  Resurrection,  with  the 
poundof  the  Ascension;  what  I  have  done  in  the 
vineyard  which  he  planted  with  a  cross." 

Brethren,  if  I  speak  of  what  the  world  wants, 
may  I  not  speak  also  of  what  heaven  wants? 
Heaven  seems  to  need  such  men  as  Christ  would 
make.  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  heaven 
needs  to  be  peopled.  We  cannot  count  the  mul- 
titudes of  it.  Heaven  needs  but  one  thing::  it 
needs  those  who  are  prepared  for  it.  Heaven 
must  be  inhabited  by  men  within  whom  there  is 
incarnate  the  ascension  of  Clirist ;  who  have  made 
up  their  lives  around  the  truth  that  Christ  died 
for  them  and  rose  and  ascended ;  a  truth  which  in 
the  hands  of  the  Holy  Spirit  takes  away  sin  and 
breaks  the  power  of  tlie  world,  and  renews  and 


120  CAMBRIDGE  SEB^dOXS. 

sanctifies  and  glorifies  the  heart.  We  overesti- 
mate  ourselves  if  we  think  heaven  will  be  impov- 
erished without  us.  Still  heaven  wants  us,  and  at 
our  best ;  and  no  man  is  at  his  best  until  he  has 
made  up  his  character  with  the  divine  truths. 

These  things  come  to  us  in  this  world  where  we 
have  need  of  them.  It  doubtless  is  true  that  we  need 
them  here  as  much  as  anywhere.  It  is  in  this  world 
that  these  things  have  been  wrought  out,  and  that 
means  that  it  is  in  this  world  they  are  to  be  used. 
Christ  did  not  rise  and  ascend  in  heaven ;  he  rose 
and  ascended  here.  They  make  an  earthly  fact,  an 
every-day  truth.  They  furnish  one  of  the  com- 
monplaces of  God's  government  for  this  common- 
place world.  Let  us  take  the  facts  here  ;  then  let 
us  consent  to  the  discipline  of  the  world  while 
they  come  to  help  us ;  to  be  a  part  of  our  training 
in  patience,  in  charity,  in  faith,  in  all  devotion.  I 
know  it  seems  hard  to  wait  for  the  glory  of  the 
Lord;  but  the  marble  may  well  be  content  to  tarry 
in  the  studio  of  the  sculptor  until  he  has  touched 
it  again  and  again  ;  and  the  statue  will  be  willing  to 
wait,  if  it  knows  that  presently  the  last  rough  and  the 
final  tender  touch  shall  be  given,  and  after  that  — 
not  always  kept  under  the  chisel  and  the  hammer; 
not  always  in  this  rude  workshop,  with  the  broken 
stone  and  scattered  dust  upon  the  floor  ;  not  always 
waiting  among  these  masks  and  models  —  pres- 
ently it  shall  stand  out  in  its  place  of  honor, 
where  men  shall  look  up  to  catch  the  thought  that 


WHY  STAXD  YE  GAZING  ?  121 

is  incarnate  in  the  marble,  and  the  lips  shall  speak 
and  the  face  shall  reflect  the  thought  of  Him  out 
of  whom  the  creation  has  sprung  ;  a  living  thought 
for  a  world  that  needs  to  be  made  alive. 

Why  stand  we  gazing  into  heaven?  Let  us 
take  the  truths  of  heaven  and  go  down  and  live 
them  out.  The  Lord  is  gone,  but  he  is  liere.  It 
is  not  the  repeating  of  his  name,  it  is  the  doing 
of  his  will  which  is  to  avail.  He  is  here ;  not 
in  the  far  country  alone,  but  watching  us  here. 
When  McGregor  led  his  clan  into  the  battle  of 
Prestonpans,  and  the  chief  was  wounded  and  fell 
bleeding  upon  the  ground,  his  men,  dismaj'ed  and 
disheartened,  began  to  waver,  until  the  wounded 
chieftain,  raising  himself  upon  his  elbow,  while  the 
blood  flowed  from  his  wounds,  cried  out,  "  I  am 
not  dead,  my  children  ;  I  am  looking  at  you,  to  see 
5'-ou  do  your  duty."  They  rallied  and  rushed  on 
to  that  whereunto  he  had  called  them  to  the  field. 
Christ  lives.  He  is  here ;  he  is  looking  at  us. 
He  is  here,  not  to  be  met  with  our  wondering  eyes, 
but  with  our  obedient  life.  "  Blessed  is  that  ser- 
vant whom  his  Lord,  when  he  cometh,  shall  find  so 
doing."  "  He  that  doeth  the  will  of  God  abideth 
forever." 

If  any  man  will  serve, 

Then  let  him  foUovv'  me  ; 
For  where  T  am,  be  thou  right  sure. 
There  shall  my  servant  be. 


VII. 
NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIRIT. 


SciiiPTURE  Lesson  :    1  Cor.  ii. 

Text  :      Not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  spirit,  salth 
the  Lord  of  hosts.     Zech.  iv  :   6. 


THIS  was  one  of  the  instances  in  which  might 
and  power,  that  is,  a  control  by  force,  would 
be  thought  to  have  its  place.  It  was  a  question 
between  two  nations,  two  peoples.  The  Jews  had 
been  trying  for  a  long  time  to  rebuild  their  temple. 
They  had  been  carried  into  captivity.  To  gain 
the  right  to  rebuild  the  temple  would  be  the  occa- 
sion for  revolt.  Let  them  conquer  their  oppressors, 
go  back  to  their  own  country,  and  raise  again  the 
house  which  had  been  destro3''ed.  But  the  record 
of  the  rebuilding  is  this :  "  The  Lord  stirred  up 
the  spirit  of  Cyrus."  Cyrus  was  a  Pagan  and 
cared  nothing  for  the  temple  ;  but  the  Lord  stirred 
up  his  spirit  to  incite  the  Jews  to  build  their  house, 
and  the}'  began  it.  Then  came  those  long  periods 
of  opposition,  when  Ahasuerus  and  Artaxerxes 
occupied  the  throne  of  Persia,  and  the  Samaritans 
were  continually  hindering  these  temple-builders. 

122 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIBIT.  123 

That  was  a  time  for  them  to  rise  against  the 
Samaritans ;  it  was  a  time  for  God  to  make  bare 
his  arm,  as  he  liad  done  against  Pharaoh  and  liis 
host.  Instead  of  that,  the  Lord  pnt  it  into  the 
heart  of  Darius, the  king,  to  search  the  records  of 
the  kingdom,  where  he  found  the  okl  decree  wliich 
God  had  inclined  Cyrus  to  make.  Renewing  that 
decree,  he  rebuked  the  Samaritans,  and  required 
them  to  aid  those  whom  they  had  been  opposing. 
The  temple  rose  to  its  completion,  not  by  the 
might  of  arms,  not  by  the  power  of  revolution,  but 
"  by  my  spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts."  It 
became,  then,  in  the  highest  sense,  a  house  that  was 
not  made  with  hands. 

This  is  to  be  accepted  as  God's  ordinary  way  of 
w^orking  in  the  world.  He  does  exercise  power ; 
he  does  come  witli  judgment  ;  he  does  put  forth 
his  omnipotent  force  and  control  men  and  nations  ; 
but  his  common  way  is  quiet  and  gentle,  in  the 
hearts  of  men  ;  and  when  he  uses  more  violent 
and  evident  methods,  in  tliem  and  after  them  may 
be  found  this  silent  working  of  his  spirit.  The 
wind  rends  the  mountains  and  breaks  the  rocks  in 
pieces;  the  earthquake  makes  the  hills  tremble; 
the  fire  flashes  from  cliff  to  cliff,  and  lights  the  deep 
gorges ;  but  God  is  not  in  wind,  or  earthquake,  or 
fire.  He  comes  ^' not  by  might,  nor  by  power." 
But  there  is  ''  after  the  fire  a  still,  small  voice." 

This  method  of  God's  working  commends  itself 
to  us.     It  is  more  majestic ;  it  is  grander.     The 


124  CAMBIUDGE  SERMONS, 

great  forces  of  God  work  quietly,  as  in  light  and 
life.  It  is  more  rational ;  it  is  the  recognition  of 
God's  spiritual  nature  and  of  man's,  and  of  that 
liberty  which  God  has  given  to  man  so  that  he  is 
not  to  be  compelled,  but  to  be  persuaded.  It  is 
direct;  for  it  goes  to  the  seat  of  man's  thoughts 
and  actions.  It  is  more  lasting,  for  what  is  done 
upon  a  man  in  the  way  of  outward  act,  controlling 
his  conduct,  will  be  much  less  permanent  than 
that  which  is  done  in  his  character,  sinking  down 
into  his  will  and  wish  and  purpose,  where  it  is  likely 
to  abide.  As  we  come  to  measure  the  methods  of 
men  and  to  arrange  the  ways  of  our  own  working 
in  the  world,  we  find,  as  we  see  when  we  look  upon 
the  course  of  God's  providence,  that  the  great 
forces  are  those  which  work  quietly  and  spiritually, 
and  not  the  ph3'sical  and  material  forces.  Thus  it 
is  with  us  personally.  The  men  who  influence  us 
most  are  not  those  who  try  to  drive  us  to  do  their 
will.  We  always  resist,  by  virtue  of  all  that 
makes  us  men,  when  any  one  tries  to  compel  us. 
One  can  do  almost  what  he  will  with  us,  except 
force  us  into  a  way  in  which  we  do  not  wish  to 
walk.  By  his  spirit,  by  his  reasoning,  by  his  per- 
suasion, by  the  force  of  his  example,  by  the  sweet 
benignity  of  his  character  and  presence,  he  can 
win  us  to  himself.  So,  when  we  go  out  to  work 
upon  others,  we  come  back  disappointed  and  vexed 
if  we  have  tried  to  force  a  man  ;  but  we  often 
have  success  when  we  try  to  win  him.     The  old 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIRIT.  125 

fable  is  true  pliilosophy  ;  it  is  not  the  Avind,  it  is 
the  sun  which  brings  the  traveller  to  its  OAvn  terms. 
In  the  family,  in  tlie  school,  and  even  in  the  care 
of  the  criminal  and  the  insane,  we  find  still  that 
with  the  passing  away  of  that  which  is  violent,  and 
the  bringing  in  of  gentler  methods,  Ave  are  caring 
for  children  and  men  in  a  better  way.  It  is  so 
when  Ave  look  abroad  upon  those  who  go  out  into 
the  earth  and  gain  poAver  over  savages  and  bar- 
barians. Livingstone  drew  men  to  himself  by  his 
gentleness  and  kindness,  and  he  became  a  father 
to  them.  This  is  the  great  force  of  history.  The 
history  of  our  oAvn  land  is  Avritten  in  a  single  Averse 
by  one  of  our  poets  : 

The  voice  of  the  Lord  by  night 

To  the  "vvatcliing  pilgrims  came, 
As  tliey  sat  by  the  seaside, 
And  filled  their  hearts  with  flame. 

Whatever  may  be  done  by  the  great  movements 
of  armies  and  nations,  the  moving  force  underneath 
these  has  been  this  mighty  AA^orking  of  God's  spirit 
through  the  human  Avill. 

Often  among  men  it  has  been  the  gentlest,  most 
quiet  ministrations  Avhich  have  produced  the  greatest 
results.  When  Edward  had  starved  Calais  into 
surrender,  and  held  the  city  Avhich  he  had  so  long 
besieged,  it  was  in  his  poAver  to  destroy  it ;  but 
the  people  preserved  their  city  and  preserved  their 
lives,  ''not  by  might."     He   said  that   he  Avould 


126  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

spare  the  city  if  six  of  the  citizens  would  give 
themselves  into  his  hands  ;  and  six  of  the  leading 
men  came  out,  stripped  of  their  raiment,  every 
man  with  a  halter  about  his  neck.  They  bore  the 
keys  of  the  city ;  they  threw  themselves  at  the 
king's  feet ;  they  gave  themselves  unreservedly 
into  his  hands,  and  asked  for  his  mercy.  They 
were  answered  with  a  call  for  the  executioner. 
There  were  his  knights,  and  there  was  the  great 
army,  but  they  had  no  power  over  him.  He  was 
the  monarch,  and  all  power  was  with  him.  Then 
Philippa  knelt  at  his  feet  and  cried,  "  Ah,  gentle 
sire,  now  pray  I,  and  beseech  you,  with  folded 
hands,  for  the  love  of  our  Ladj^'s  son  to  have  mercy 
upon  them  ! " 

And  the  king  answered,  "  Lady,  I  would  rather 
you  had  been  otherwhere.  You  pray  so  tenderly 
that  I  dare  not  refuse  you;  and  though  I  do  it 
against  my  will,  I  give  them  to  you."  So  the  lives 
of  the  men  were  spared,  the  peace  of  the  city  was 
saved,  and  the  honor  of  the  king  and  the  English 
people  was  preserved;  "Not  by  might,  nor  by 
power,"  but  by  the  spirit  of  a  woman's  prayer. 

Or  if  we  look  upon  the  rulers  of  the  world,  in 
the  various  departments  of  life,  we  find  the  same 
principle  at  work.  Great  armies  do  not  of  them- 
selves win  the  victory.  It  is  the  silent  counsel 
of  the  men  at  the  head  of  the  army.  Great 
statesmen  are  not  by  their  open  deeds  controlling 
men  ;  it  is  more  by  the  thought  wrought  out  in 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIRIT.  127 

their  chambers.  Great  artists  are  not  artists  by 
force  of  physical  power,  but  by  a  certain  spiritual 
clmracter  which  belongs  to  them,  Avhich  never  can 
be  imitated,  and  into  which  no  training  can  ever 
bring  a  man.  An  English  painter  said,  '*  I  mix 
my  paint  with  brains."  Guido  said  of  Rubens, 
"He  mixes  his  paint  with  blood."  Surely  it  is 
this  genius  which,  Avorking  within  a  man,  makes 
him  able  to  control  others  through  that  which 
he  does  before  their  eyes. 

Again  the  force  which  works  in  woman,  which 
gives  her  that  marvellous  influence  which  is 
scarcely  second  to  anything  in  the  world  to-day, 
is  a  force  which  is  not  gained  by  noise  or  by 
pushing  forward  into  prominence.  But  in  her 
own  place,  with  her  voice,  with  her  example,  with 
her  training  of  children,  with  all  that  is  beautiful 
and  strong  in  her  character,  she  gains  control  of 
the  thought  and  method  of  those  whose  work  is 
more  manifest  and  more  resounding  through  the 
world.  The  whole  march  of  civilization  is  upon 
this  line.  Every  gain  we  make  is  a  gain  of 
spiritual  over  material  force.  It  is  the  putting 
away  of  armies,  the  forces  of  war ;  it  is  the  with- 
holding of  physical  control ;  it  is  bringing  out 
reason,  conscience,  and  those  immaterial  and 
invisible  forces  which  have  their  seat  in  the  heart 
of  man,  and  have  tlie  field  of  their  working  in  the 
hearts  of  other  men.  As  civilization  goes  on  from 
this  immature  state  towards  its  completion,  more 


128  CAMBBILGE  SERMONS. 

and  more  shall  we  find  the  working  not  of  might, 
nor  power,  but  of  spiritual  energy,  of  spiritual 
influence  over  the  hearts  of  men. 

If  this  be  so  within  this  little  domain  of  ours, 
where  we  have  this  influence  one  over  another, 
still  more  is  it  true  when  we  reach  out  into  the 
eternal  working  of  God  and  seek  to  find  in  what 
way  he  will  bring  his  own  purposes  to  pass.  It  is 
not  by  great,  astounding  works  —  b}^  the  thunder 
of  his  voice,  by  the  roar  of  his  tempests,  by  the 
flashing  of  his  lightning  —  that  God  seeks  to  con- 
trol men.  It  is  by  the  Virgin's  child,  born  in  a 
little  village,  in  an  obscure  province,  the  spirit  of 
whose  life  is,  "  He  shall  not  strive  nor  cry ; 
neither  shall  any  man  hear  his  voice  in  the  streets ; " 
who  is  ordained  for  his  ministry  by  the  descent  of 
a  dove  upon  him,  and  who  finds  his  work  in  the 
world  when  John  the  Baptist,  with  his  loud  voice, 
has  receded ;  when  he  baptizes  men  not  with  the 
water  of  the  Jordan,  which  they  could  see,  and 
whose  flowing,  falling  drops  they  could  watch,  but 
with  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God  in  their  hearts. 
Even  this  is  not  to  be  continued.  This  visible 
presence  must  be  withdrawn.  St.  Paul  says, 
"Though  I  have  known  Christ  after  the  flesh,  yet 
now  henceforth  know  I  him  no  more."  He  would 
not  know  any  one  whom  he  could  see  ;  he  would  not 
hear  any  one  whose  voice  fell  upon  his  ear.  Only 
spiritual  vision  should  control  him  ;  only  spiritual 
utterances  sliould  guide  him  ;    for  there  had  come, 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIRIT.  129 

when  the  Christ  had  vanished  from  the  earth,  as  it 
was  expedient  that  he  shonld  do,  the  reign  of  the 
Spirit,  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  should,  because  he 
is  Spirit,  control  the  spirits  of  men  who  control 
themselves  and  who  govern  the  world. 

Hence  when  we  come  to  this  spiritual  era  we 
come  into  an  advance,  a  sudden  and  marked 
advance,  of  this  spiritual,  unseen  agency.  That 
day  which  stands  out  from  all  the  days  of  Pente- 
cost as  the  Day  of  Pentecost  is  not  thus  distin- 
guished by  the  "sound  as  of  the  rushing  of  a 
mighty  wind,"  for  there  liad  been  a  rushing,  mighty 
wind  ever  since  there  had  been  a  wind  to  blow. 
The  grand  distinguisliang  peculiarity  which  sepa- 
rates and  signalizes  the  Day  of  Pentecost  is  the 
coming  of  a  spiritual  power,  unseen  and  mysteri- 
ous, which,  descending  out  of  heaven,  finds  its 
way  into  the  spirits  of  men  and  there  works  its 
holy  and  divine  pleasure ;  and  that  which  is  still 
the  highest  in  all  Scripture,  as  in  all  human 
thought,  is  this  spiritual  presence. 

Brethren,  we  have  come  to  the  beginning  of 
the  end.  We  shall  change  our  place,  but  shall 
not  advance  beyond  this  period  that  we  are  living 
in.  The  spiritual  reign  of  God  to-day  is  the  be- 
ffinnino:  of  the  everlastincf  reio^n  of  God.  It  is  the 
eternal  reign  of  spirit  and  of  truth  in  that  kingdom 
which  is  no  longer  at  Jerusalem  ;  which  is  not  army 
nor  government,  palace  nor  cathedral ;  which  is 
"righteousness,  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 


130  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

If  we  pass  for  a  moment  to  the  examination  of 
those  things  which  it  is  necessary  to  have  done  in 
the  world,  as  our  Lord  himself  has  described  them 
—  and  the  catalogue  is  neither  brief  nor  narrow  — 
we  find  that  every  one  of  them  must  necessarily 
be  done  by  the  Spirit,  if  it  is  done  at  all.  There 
are  certain  things  which  a  man  can  do  by  outward 
force.  He  can  fell  the  tree;  he  can  break  the 
rock ;  he  can  shut  men  in  prison ;  he  can  drive 
them  by  his  whip  ;  he  can  take  away  their  exist- 
ence in  this  world,  and  after  that  he  has  no  more 
that  he  can  do.  The  grand  things  which  must  be 
done  must  be  done  by  the  Spirit  of  God  in  the 
spirit  of  men.    Let  us  look  at  the  list  for  a  moment. 

If  a  man  is  to  enter  upon  the  life  of  the  sons 
of  God,  he  must  enter  upon  it  in  the  only 
way  in  which  life  is  ever  entered  upon,  and  that  is 
by  birth.  If  he  is  to  come  into  the  household  of 
God  and  be  God's  child,  he  must  be  born  into  it. 
There  are  no  orphans  in  God's  house  ;  there  are 
no  strangers  there.  None  dwell  with  God  on  earth 
or  in  heaven  except  the  children  of  God,  and  no 
one  becomes  God's  child  except  by  birth.  Hence 
there  comes  this  need  of  the  new  birth.  "  Ye 
must  be  born  again,"  is  our  first  step  in  righteous- 
ness and  eternal  life.  Surely  that  is  a  spiritual 
work.  You  cannot  by  any  outward  demonstration 
create  a  man's  thoughts  over  again,  renew  his  pur- 
poses, change  the  current  of  his  life.  It  must  be 
done  within  him ;    and  the  only  thing  which  can 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIRIT.  131 

work  within  him  is  the  Spirit  whicli  can  enter  into 
a  man. 

Again,  it  is  necessary  that  men  shoukl  be  con- 
vinced of  sin,  and  of  righteousness,  and  of  judg- 
ment ;  and  this  can  only  be  done  by  the  Spirit  of 
God.  It  is  necessary  that  some  one  shoukl  take 
of  the  things  of  Christ  and  show  them  unto  men, 
and  guide  men  into  all  trutli;  and  this  can  only  be 
done  by  the  Spirit.  Again,  it  is  necessary  that 
there  should  be  a  continual  abiding  of  God  with 
men.  Everywhere,  in  all  the  homes  of  men,  there 
must  be  this  divine  presence  which  can  only  be  a 
spiritual  presence.  This  is  to  give  the  witness  to 
us  that  we  are  God's  children ;  this  is  to  give  us 
the  assurance  whereby  we  can  say,  "Abba,  Father," 
and  look  up  into  the  face  of  Jehovah  of  hosts. 
The  Spirit  comes  to  us,  again,  to  give  us  that 
which  is  described  in  the  large  word  of  the  New 
Testament,  "  Comfort."  The  Comforter  must  be 
in  the  heart  of  us.  You  cannot  comfort  a  man 
when  he  is  in  trouble  b}-  building  him  a  larger 
house,  or  b}^  pouring  wealth  into  his  lap.  Com- 
fort must  find  the  troubled  heart ;  and  the  only 
Comforter  of  the  world  is  the  divine  Comforter, 
who,  with  all  consolation  in  his  hand,  bears  his 
solace  into  the  troubled  hearts  of  the  children  of 
men. 

It  is  a  beautiful  suggestion  Avhich  the  Psalmist 
made  long  ago.  And  how  many  of  these  old  verses 
of  the  Psalmists  and  of  the  Prophets  come  out 


132  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

with  new  light  and  enlargement  when  we  read 
them  witli  the  New  Testament  in  our  hands  !  The 
Holy  Spirit  descended  npon  our  Lord  in  bodily 
form  as  a  dove,  and  he  Avas  the  Comforter.  The 
emblem  of  the  Holy  Spiiit  in  the  New  Testament 
is  the  dove  resting  upon  humanity  in  the  Son  of 
Man.  NoAv  read  the  words  of  David  :  "  Oh,  that  I 
had  wings  like  a  dove !  "  But  such  wings  would 
not  be  strong  enough  to  bear  us  above  the  trouble 
and  weariness  of  this  world.  Read  that  verse  now 
with  the  New  Testament  open  before  you,  and  how 
full  of  strength  it  becomes ;  how  full  of  reality,  sat- 
isfaction, and  power!  The  devout  and  longing 
soul  breathes  forth  a  better  aspiration  :  "  Oh,  that  I 
had  the  wings  of  the  dove,  the  Holy  Ghost,  the 
Comforter ;  then  would  I  fly  away,  borne  up  on 
these  almighty  pinions,  into  the  everlasting  rest." 
If  we  take  that  work  which  is  yet  to  be  done 
in  the  world,  to  win  the  Avorld  unto  the  love  of 
Christ,  still  it  is  the  same  spiritual  work,  bringing 
men  into  new  lives,  that  they  may  have  a  new 
destin}^  of  righteousness  and  of  eternal  life. 
Truly,  as  one  reads  it  again,  there  comes  a  fresh 
interpretation  of  an  old  Scripture.  So  many  say 
nowadays  that  the  Old  Testament  is  harsh  and 
unkind.  I  suppose  they  say  so  because  they  do 
not  read  it.  You  can  say  what  you  please  about  a 
man  whom  you  do  not  know.  One  who  knows 
the  Old  Testament  will  not  say  that.  But  how 
beautiful,  how  enlarged,  how  strong,  how  precious, 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIIilT.  133 

becomes  the  Old  Testament  thought  in  the  light 
of  the  New.  For  it  was  an  Old  Testament  saint 
who  said,  "  Thy  gentleness,"  thy  quietness,  thy 
patience,  thy  love,  not  thy  might  nor  thy  power, 
"  thy  gentleness  hath  made  me  great." 

Thus  it  must  be  always ;  and  we  are  not  sur- 
prised at  this  the  moment  we  think  who  the  Holy 
Spirit  is.  It  is  not  the  wind,  it  is  not  light.  It 
is  the  spirit  of  God  entering  into  the  spirit  of  man. 
The  Holy  Spirit  is  God.  If  any  one  shall  sa}'  the 
Holy  Spirit  seems  sometimes  to  be  spoken  of  as 
an  influence  proceeding  into  the  world,  still  it  is 
God's  influence.  There  have  been  persons  who 
have  doubted  the  divinity  of  Christ ;  I  believe  no 
one  doubts  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  is 
God's  influence,  if  it  is  an  influence.  Rather  it 
is  God  having  influence,  Avho  is  the  Holy  Spirit. 
When  one  thinks  how  great  God  is,  and  how  near 
he  can  come  to  us  because  we  are  spirit  as  he 
is  spirit,  then  he  finds  the  provision  for  all  this 
that  shall  come. 

Hence  we  find,  passing  again  from  the  Old 
Testament  to  the  New,  how  a  word  which  there 
is  set  aside  in  the  sentence  of  the  Prophet,  comes 
from  the  lips  of  the  Christ  with  all  its  force 
strengthened,  and  becomes  one  of  the  telling  and 
inspiring  words  of  the  Gospel  truth.  ''  Not  by 
power,"  said  the  Prophet ;  and  Jesus  said,  "  Ye 
shall  receive  power  after  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  come  upon  you."     ''  Not  by  God's   hand,"  said 


134  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

the  Prophet;  "By  my  spirit,"  said  the  Christ. 
"  Not  by  what  shall  be  done  outwardly  upon  men, 
but  by  what  shall  be  done  in  the  hearts  of  men," 
said  the  Prophet.  "  Ye  shall  receive  power  over  the 
hearts  of  men,"  Jesus  taught,  when  on  the  Mount 
of  the  Ascension  he  gave  his  last  promise  to  the 
disciples  whom  he  was  to  leave  in  the  world.  The 
power  is  that  which  makes  human  efficiency  and 
accomplishment. 

Knowledge  is  said  to  be  power.  Knowledge  is 
power  in  the  same  sense  that  wood  is  fuel.  Wood 
on  fire  is  fuel;  knowledge  on  fire  is  power.  There 
is  no  more  power  in  knowledge  than  there  is  in 
the  stones  or  stars  which  you  know,  unless  there 
be  a  spirit  and  life  in  tlie  knowledge  which  give 
it  its  energy.  In  proportion  as  men  have  this 
spiritual  power  do  they  become  strong  in  the 
world.  If  I  may  borrow  the  illustration  from  one 
of  our  own  writers  ;  when  Eric  starts  from  Green- 
land in  robust  health  he  will  steer  west,  and  his 
ships  will  reach  Newfoundland.  But  take  out  Eric 
and  put  in  Biorne  or  Thorfin,  and  with  just  as 
much  ease  the  ship  will  find  New  England.  The 
difference  between  Eric  and  Biorno  is  a  difference 
of  spirit.  The  difference  between  Peter  on  the 
day  of  Pentecost  and  Peter  before  is  a  difference 
of  spiritual  power.  Hear  his  last  question  before 
he  comes  to  the  Ascension  :  "  Lord,  and  what  shall 
this  man  do?  "  Hear  his  question  on  the  Mount 
of  the  Ascension  :  "  Wilt  thou  at  this  time  restore 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIRIT.  135 

again  the  kingdom  to  Israel  ? "  Hear  his  words 
when  the  Spirit  of  God  has  descended  upon  him  ; 
words  which  have  never  ceased ;  which  have  brouglit 
men  by  the  tliousands  into  the  new  life  by  the 
cross.  Take  Saul  of  Tarsus  with  all  his  madness ; 
he  learns  no  new  philosophy  at  Damascus,  gains 
nothino'  of  that  which  is  accounted  knowledg-e. 
There  comes  upon  him,  after  he  has  gone  into  the 
city,  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  St.  Paul  from  that  hour 
outstrips  all  others  in  the  greatness  of  his  accom- 
plishment in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men. 

Power  comes  to  knowledge  to  give  it  efficiency. 
Knowledge  without  power  is  like  the  heir-apparent 
to  the  throne.  He  is  of  royal  blood,  but  he  has 
no  autliority.  Knowledge  with  power  is  the 
prhice  on  the  throne,  with  the  crown  and  sceptre. 
Power  comes  to  good  resolution  to  give  it  effi- 
ciency. This  is  weak;  it  is  worthless  in  itself.  "I 
will  arise  and  go  to  my  father,"  is  a  purpose,  and 
the  man  is  as  hungry  and  as  ragged  after  it  as  he 
was  before.  "  I  arise  and  go  to  my  father  ;  "  that 
is  resolution  with  power  in  it.  Duty  comes  to  us 
as  something  hard,  and  we  shrink  from  it.  No 
one  is  a  large  man  if  he  does  not  feel  that  his 
duty  is  larger  than  himself.  Our  ideas  of  duty  are 
too  petty,  and  too  low,  if  Ave  are  able  of  ourselves 
to  change  them  into  the  deeds.  It  never  was 
meant  that  a  man  by  himself  should  do  his  work. 
The  Sermon  on  the  Mount  is  beyond  every  one  of 
us.     But  with   the  Sermon  on  the  Mount  comes 


136  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

the  promise  of  power  by  which  we  can  meet  its 
duties ;  and  when  we  take  the  commandment 
with  the  power  which  accompanies  it,  then  we 
can  do  our  duty.  God  who  gives  the  duty  gives 
himself  to  make  us  strong  for  the  duty.  "  When 
religion  ceases  to  demand  the  impossible,  it  ceases 
to  be  religion,"  some  one  has  said,  and  it  is  a 
simple  and  profound  truth.  So  in  our  way  of 
attainment.  We  look  at  these  visions  of  Christian 
character,  and  how  far  beyond  us  they  seem  as  they 
are  presented  in  the  New  Testament  ?  And  who 
can  ever  come  up  to  this  excellency  of  heart  and 
of  life,  to  be  perfect,  to  be  holy  ?  We  do  well  to 
despair  and  say,  "  It  is  a  dream,  this  thought  of 
being  so  great.  It  may  be  for  apostles  ;  it  may  be 
for  pious  women  ;  it  is  not  for  business  men."  It 
is  for  business  men.  Business  men  are  to  be  saints. 
Business  is  to  be  as  holy  as  praying,  or  we  have  no 
right  to  touch  it  with  one  of  our  fingers ;  and  our 
common  occupations  are  to  be  as  holy  as  the  work 
of  the  angels.  Can  it  ever  be?  Of  course  it  can 
never  be.  Let  us  abandon  all  hope  of  it.  Then 
let  us  make  it  true.  For  Jesus  says,  when  he  sets 
before  us  this  lofty  ideal,  I  will  give  you  power ; 
I  will  bear  your  thoughts  up ;  I  will  inspire  your 
purposes ;  I  will  attend  you  through  all  the  strain 
and  stress  of  life,  and  you  shall  be  clean,  for  I  will 
make  you  pure.  When  Christ  keeps  a  man,  there 
is  not  pollution  enough  in  the  world  to  stain  his 
garments ;    there   is  not  heat  enough  in  the  fur- 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  HFIEIT.  137 

nace  to  put  the  smell  of  fire  even  upon  liis  robes. 

Or,  if  we  tliiiilc  of  Christian  worlv  wliich  we  are 
to  do  for  men  as  ministers  of  God's  grace,  again 
w^e  shrink  from  it.  How  can  we  bring  men  to 
the  Saviour  ?  "  It  is  of  no  use  for  me  to  speak  to 
my  neighbor,"  a  man  says.  "  There  is  very  little 
comes  from  preaching  the  gospel,"  men  'say. 
"  There  is  very  little  good  comes  from  the  Sab- 
bath-school," some  think.  There  is  truth  in  these 
words  and  thoughts.  Not  by  the  might  of  words, 
not  by  the  power  of  preaching,  when  a  man's  lips 
utter  the  truth  to  liuman  ears,  can  the  work  be 
done.  But  when  the  school  becomes  filled  with 
the  Spirit  of  God  ;  when  in  every  teacher's  heart 
is  the  Holy  Spirit  speaking  through  his  lips ;  when 
the  Spirit  of  God  gives  you  truth  to  utter,  and 
prepares  the  heart  of  the  one  to  whom  you  sliall 
speak  it,  and  when  you  obey  the  Spirit,  then  your 
ministry  becomes  a  power  in  the  world. 

It  is  not  strange  that  our  lives  seem  to  us  so 
weak.  There  are  some  of  you  who  are  wont 
to  express  your  discontent  with  life  and  its 
results.  You  are  discontented  and  it  Avill  grow 
worse  and  worse.  You  will  go  througli  a  series 
of  disappointments,  and  on  your  dying  bed  you 
will  say  that  life  is  a  failure,  and  it  may  be  you 
will  tell  the  truth.  It  may  be  a  failure.  It  is 
a  pity  to  work  hard  fifty  years  and  then  die  with 
little  done.  But  we  do.  We  are  not  equal  to 
life ;  we  cannot  bear  its  temptations ;  we   cannot 


138  CAMBRIDGE  SER3fONS. 

meet  its  duties ;  we  cannot  fulfil  our  purposes ; 
and  it  is  in  vain  that  we  rely  upon  might  and 
power.  "  But  have  I  not  all  my  years  attended 
church?  "  one  may  ask.  "Do  I  not  try  very  hard 
to  do  right?"  Very  likely.  ''Not  by  might" 
do  men  do  right ;  "  not  by  power  "  do  men  fulfil 
the  end  of  their  being,  "but  by  my  spirit,  saith 
the  Lord  of  hosts."  Only  God  is  as  great  as  a 
human  life.  A  man  is  not  large  enough  for  that 
which  God  requires  of  him,  since  sin  has  shrunken 
him  to  small  proportions.  If  you  will  let  the 
Spirit  of  God  come  into  your  heart  and  make 
your  thoughts  ;  if  you  will  let  him  mark  out  your 
path  day  by  day,  and  then  tread  it;  if  you  will 
listen  to  his  suggestions  and  obe}^  his  word,  to-day 
will  be  successful,  to-morrow  will  be  prosperous. 
Men  will  praise  you,  and,  better  than  that,  your 
heart  will  commend  you.  Then,  and  never  until 
then,  will  the  voice  of  the  Christ  say  "  Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant." 

I  would  save  you,  and  I  would  save  myself, 
from  narrow  and  earthly  living.  I  would  come 
with  you  into  these  high  and  holy  purposes  which 
shall  accomplish  great  results.  But  it  is  not  by 
external  means  ;  it  is  not  by  the  struggle  of  our 
spirits  ;  it  is  not  b}^  the  force  of  our  will ;  it  is  only 
as  the  great,  wise,  and  loving  will  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  enters  into  our  spirit,  that  we  become  great 
enough.  I  read  only  last  week  the  instruction 
of  an  actor  touching  those  things  which  are  requi- 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  SPIBIT.  139 

site  for  success  in  his  calling.  This  writer  said 
that  there  are  three  things  necessary :  talent,  train- 
ing—  but  these  two  would  not  accomplish  much; 
there  must  also  be  what  was  called  "inspiration." 
I  said,  "  Saul  also  is  among  the  prophets."  If  to 
personate  somebody  else ;  if  to  go  through  an 
hour's  mimicry  for  the  entertainment  of  a  throng ; 
if  to  amuse  without  much  prospect  of  improving ; 
if  this  demands  more  than  talent  and  more  than 
training,  even  a  spirit  within,  then  to  be  real  men 
and  to  do  a  real  work  which  shall  make  the 
streets  safer,  which  shall  make  life  happier,  Avhich 
shall  bring  the  kingdom  of  God  nearer,  this 
demands  more  than  mio-ht  —  the  mio^ht  of  liuman 
strength ;  more  than  power  —  the  power  of  a  trained 
will.  It  demands  ''  M}^  spirit,  saith  the  Lord 
of  hosts."  I  suppose  that  we  get  as  much  return 
from  life  as  we  have  any  right  to  expect.  Our 
might  can  only  repeat  the  poverty  of  the  recom- 
pense, till  our  failing  breath  shall  say,  "Vanity  of 
vanities."  Where  is  our  wisdom  to-day,  but  in 
opening  our  hearts  to  the  strength  which  never 
fails  ;  to  the  incoming  of  the.  life  which  is  the 
beginning  of  immortality  !  Then  shall  we  reign  : 
then  shall  we  do  our  daily  work  in  the  power  and 
glory  of  it.  Then  shall  man  be  served,  and  God 
be  glorified. 

It  is  this  — let  me  say  again  —  it  is  this  which  the 
world  needs.  They  tell  us  the  Church  has  lost  its 
power   in  the    world.     It   is   not  true.     But  the 


140  CAMBBIDGE  SEEMONS. 

Church  will  enlarge  its  influence  when  it  has 
enlarged  its  spirit.  The  greatest  gift  which  you 
can  give  to  your  profession,  to  your  house,  to  the 
community,  is  the  gift  of  a  man  who  lives  by  the 
power  of  God's  Spirit  teaching  him,  directing  him, 
employing  him,  and  who  shall  carry  down  into  all 
the  sordidness  and  earthiness  of  the  world  a  spir- 
itual character,  spiritual  utterances,  spiritual  vision  ; 
a  life  that  is  made  up  by  the  power  of  the  endless 
years. 

I  turn  from  this  subject  with  regret.  As  I  stand 
with  you  to-day  and  see  hoAV  life  promises  to 
repeat  its  inefficiency,  and  that  many  of  us  are 
likely  to  lie  down  at  last  defeated,  and  perhaps  in 
the  grave  of  the  wicked,  I  cannot  cease  from  say- 
ing to  you  and  to  myself,  that  there  is  but  one 
thing  which  can  save  us ;  but  one  way  in  which  we 
can  glorify  God  in  our  heart  and  our  life  ;  and  that 
is,  not  by  simply  trying  to  be  good ;  not  by  working 
hard  to  do  good;  it  is  by  receiving  the  Spirit  into 
our  spirit ;  praying  God  to  come  to  us  and  take  us ; 
to  teach  us,  to  guide  us,  to  use  us.  Then  God's 
success  shall  be  our  success ;  life  shall  be  glorified, 
and  God  shall  be  honored. 

There  stands  the  organ,  as  it  has  stood  through 
these  minutes  in  which  I  have  been  speaking  to 
you.  Unless  it  falls  in  pieces,  it  may  stand  there 
for  many  years,  silent  as  at  this  moment.  There 
is  no  voice  in  its  pipes ;  no  sound  issues 
from  it.     It  is  dumb ;  it  is  dead.     If  the  skilled 


NOT  BY  MIGHT,  BUT  BY  S  PIE  IT.  141 

hands  of  the  phayer  touch  the  keys,  5^011  will  liear 
the  rattle,  but  there  will  be  no  music.  Handel 
jiimself  might  come  and  la}'  his  fingers,  heavy  with 
melod}',  upon  the  keys;  there  would  be  the  same 
rattle  which  a  boy  could  make.  Dumb  organ, 
dead,  let  the  sexton  bury  it  out  of  our  sight. 
There  is  only  one  thing  which  can  save  it :  a 
breath  from  without ;  a  spirit  which  shall  come  as 
the  wind  comes.  The  air  which  is  in  this  great 
outer  world  must  be  breathed  into  its  pipes,  and 
answer  to  the  hands  of  a  man,  pouring  out  its  obe- 
dient harmon3\  It  will  wake  to  music,  and  to 
thought,  and  life,  and  worship,  only  as  the  breath 
of  the  living  God  moves  through  its  silence.  If  it 
be  true  of  an  organ,  it  is  true  of  a  man.  Only  as 
God  breathes  through  our  reason  and  conscience ; 
breathes  through  these  lips  and  out  of  this  life  of 
ours,  only  then  shall  we  utter  the  melody  which 
will  enlarge  the  harmony  of  the  world  and  blend 
with  the  eternal  minstrelsy  of  the  supernal  courts. 

Come,  Holy  Spirit,  heavenly  dove, 
With  all  thy  quickening  powers. 

Brethren,  it  is  your  last  hope.     But  it  is  a  liope. 


VIII. 
GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT. 


Scripture  Lesson  :    Bomans  viii :  14-39. 

Text  :      Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God.    Fph.  iv :  30. 

THIS  brings  the  Holy  Spirit  very  near  to  us. 
We  must  be  in  intimate  relations  witli  him, 
if  we  can  grieve  him.  He  is  no  longer  afar  off;  he 
is  not  indifferent  to  our  words  or  our  will ;  lie  is 
close  to  us,  tenderly  regarding  us,  intimately  inter- 
ested ill  us,  if  Avhat  we  can  do  can  grieve  the  Spirit 
of  God,  who  is  the  spirit  of  blessedness. 

We  are  reminded  again  by  this  teaching  of  the 
personality  of  the  Spirit.  You  cannot  grieve  a 
thing;  you  cannot  grieve  an  influence;  nothing 
can  be  grieved  but  that  which  has  a  heart,  and  a 
will,  and  a  life  —  a  person.  The  Holy  Spirit  is 
the  Spirit  of  God ;  God  is  spirit ;  God  is  the  Holy 
Spirit ;  the  Holy  Spirit  is  God. 

It  is  clear  that  it  is  a  matter  of  extreme  concern 
that,  if  God  be  so  near  to  us,  we  who  would 
receive  his  blessing  should  be  submissive  to  his 
will;  should  be  governed  by  his  guidance  ;  should 

142 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  143 

let  him  pour  upon  us  the  riches  of  his  grace.  It 
must  be  a  sad  tiling  if  one,  for  any  reason,  shuts 
himself  out  from  the  blessing  and  grace  of  God  ; 
if  he  grieves  God  so  that  he  withdraws  his  pres- 
ence and  the  man  fails  of  those  things  which  the 
lavish  mercy  would  bestow  upon  him  —  the 
exceeding  richness  of  his  grace. 

The  Spirit  coming  into  the  world  to  bless  us 
does  not  come  on  an  independent  mission.  Let  us 
notice,  first  of  all,  the  precise  position  of  the  work 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  ''  God  so  loved  the  world, 
that  he  gave  his  only-begotten  Son,  that  wdioso- 
ever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life."  The  Son  of  God  so  loved  the 
world  that  he  gave  himself,  that  men  might  have 
everlasting  life.  The  Father  and  the  Son  so  loved 
the  world  that  they  gave  the  Holy  Spirit  that  men 
mifrht  have  everlastinn;  life.  BetAveen  the  love 
which  is  in  the  heart  of  God  and  that  love  posses- 
sing the  heart  of  a  man,  ruling  it  and  blessing  it, 
stands  the  cross  of  Christ  who  is  the  incarnate 
and  crucified  love  of  God.  The  work  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  to  bring  this  love  which  is  in  God's  heart, 
and  which  Avorks  so  wondrously  and  graciously  in 
the  cross  of  the  Son  of  God,  into  our  lives,  to 
make  it  effective  there,  that  the  highest  purpose 
of  God  may  be  accomplished ;  that  the  greatest 
thought  of  the  love  of  God  may  fulfil  itself  within 
the  lives  of  men.  This  is  the  work  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  which  we  are  to  recoo-nize  and  to  think 


144  CAMBRIDGE  SERIfOJSrS. 

upon.  He  comes  to  us  to  do  nothing  of  himself. 
Most  expressive  is  that  word  of  tlie  blessed  Lord : 
^'  The  Holy  Spirit  shall  not  speak  of  himself." 
Precisely  as  Jesus  asserted  his  oneness  with  the 
Father  when  he  said,  I  am  so  united  with  the 
Father  that  it  is  not  possible  I  should  do  anything 
as  separate  from  him ;  I  can  only  do  that  which  I 
do  in  union  with  him ;  so  does  he  say  of  the 
spirit,  apart  from  the  Father  and  apart  from 
me,  he  can  do  nothing.  It  is  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  taking  the  love  of  God  and  the  redemption 
of  Christ  and  carrying  them  into  the  spirit  of  men, 
that  the  first  and  the  last  thought  of  God  is  accom- 
plished in  the  hearts  of  his  children. 

We  have  but  to  turn  to  those  things  which 
Christ  said  concerning  the  Spirit  if  we  would  find 
the  special  work  which  he  is  to  do.  We  may 
divide  it,  in  a  general  way,  into  three  parts. 
There  are  three  things,  or  three  classes  of  things, 
which  our  Lord  has  told  us  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
will  do.  In  the  first  place,  '•  He  shall  glorify  me  ; " 
that  is,  he  shall  show  me  to  the  world ;  he  shall 
make  my  glory  to  shine  before  men.  What  a  tes- 
timony it  is  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  God 
comes  into  the  world  to  glorify  him !  Of  what 
man  could  it  be  said,  of  what  angel  could  it  be 
said,  that  the  great  work  of  God  in  the  world 
is  to  glorify  him?  Yet  our  Lord  said,  that  the 
work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  world  is  to  make 
Christ  glorious.     "  He    shall   glorify   me."     "  He 


GlilEVING  THE  UOLY  SPIIilT.  145 

sliall  testify  of  me ;  he  shall  take  of  mine  and 
sluill  show  it  unto  you;"  that  is,  he  shall  stand 
in  the  stead  of  Christ  that  men  may  see  Christ. 

Secondly.  "  He  shall  guide  you  into  all  truth  ;  " 
not  through  all  truth,  but  into  all  truth;  not 
into  all  departments  of  truth,  the  scientific,  and 
philosophical,  and  historical,  but  into,  within, 
all  that  truth  which  is  concerned  in  tlie  love  and 
in  the  redemption  of  God.  "  He  shall  show  you 
things  to  come."  ^ 

Thirdly.  He  shall  work  within  the  spirit  of 
a  man,  that  the  will  of  God  may  be  done  there. 
Since  the  evil  in  man  is  his  departure  from  God, 
the  Holy  Spirit  shall  bring  him  back  to  God. 
Since  man  is  fallen  from  his  divine  nature,  the 
Spirit  shall  restore  him  to  the  divine  nature,  that 
he  may  begin  again  in  life ;  that,  with  the  old 
become  new,  he  may  make  up  a  new  life.  To 
this  end  he  shall  make  men  feel  their  need  of 
Christ,  by  reproving  them  of  sin.  He  shall  make 
tliem  feel  the  power  of  Christ,  by  showing  them 
liis  redemption  which  is  crowned  by  his  resurrec- 
tion. He  shall  make  them  feel  the  eternal  separa- 
tion between  right  and  wrong,  which  is  called  the 
judgment,  by  revealing  to  them  the  essential  dif- 
ference and  the  everlasting  difference  between  one 
who  serves  God  and  one  who  does  not  serve  God. 

Thus,  if  we  take  these  three  departments  of 
life  —  the  glorifying  Christ,  the  guiding  into  the 
truth,  and  the  niMking  the  truth  practically  effec- 


146  CAMBEIDGE  SERMONS. 

tive  within  the  minds  of  men  —  we  get,  in  a 
general  way,  the  work  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is 
to  do  in  the  world.  He  is  to  bring  men  to  Christ 
personally,  and  unite  them  to  him,  and  then  he  is 
to  guide  them  along  the  Christian  life.  Hence 
you  find  that  he  is  spoken  of  under  various  terms, 
all  implying  this  enlightenment  and  this  elevation 
of  the  life.  He  is  the  "Holy  Spirit."  He  is  the 
"  spirit  of  grace."  He  is  the  "  spirit  of  glory." 
He  is  the  "spirit  of  promise."  He  is  the  "spirit 
of  God."  He  is  the  "  spirit  of  Christ."  He  is 
the  Holy  Spirit  —  holy  in  himself,  being  the  very 
nature  of  God,  and  so  doing  a  holy  v^ork  in  the 
hearts  of  the  children  of  men.  As  many  as  are 
led  by  him,  they  are  the  sons  of  God;  and  as 
many  as  have  the  witness  of  the  Spirit  in  their 
spirit  that  they  are  born  of  God,  are  able,  out  of 
the  heart,  to  repeat  the  words  which  any  one  can 
say  with  his  lips,  "  Abba  Father." 

If  it  be  asked  in  what  way  this  Spirit  in  our 
hearts  does  this  work,  how  this  will  of  God  is 
accomplished  by  the  Spirit,  it  is  evident,  at  tlie 
outset,  that  we  must  say  he  does  it  by  a  spirit- 
ual presence  and  a  spiritual  power.  The  work 
is  not  something  which  can  be  described  in  the 
terms  of  our  ordinary  language,  because  our  ordi- 
nary terms  are  separate  from  it.  It  comes  by  the 
influence  of  the  Spirit  which  we  are  like  and  of 
which  we  are  born,  upon  our  spirits  which  are  born 
of  him.     Sometimes   men    may  be   called   by  an 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  147 

outward  demonstration  of  might  or  of  power  ;  but 
the  work  of  tlie  Spirit  is  the  work  of  God  upon  the 
hearts  of  men.  Hence  you  are  not  to  look  for 
anything  surprising  in  the  external  world.  There 
will  be  no  new  star  in  the  heavens;  there  may  be 
no  great  commotion  in  society ;  there  may  be  no 
revolution  in  your  own  house.  If  God  does  any- 
thing for  you,  he  will  do  it  quietly  and  gently  and 
simply  in  the  heart  of  you,  giving  it  a  new  thought, 
or  a  stronger  thought,  a  new  impulse,  a  new 
impression ;  a  changed  direction ;  something  of 
which  the  Avorld  will  know  nothing  at  the  time  ; 
of  which  you  may  know  little,  perhaps,  unless  you 
are  sensitive  to  the  touch  of  a  friend,  sensitive  to 
the  influence  of  a  spirit  upon  your  spirit.  The 
propliet  is  roused  by  the  wind  and  by  the  fire  ;  bat 
God  is  not  in  the  wind  nor  the  fire.  These  are  to 
awaken  him  ;  then  God  speaks  to  his  attentive 
ear,  and  the  man  wraps  his  face  in  his  mantle  and 
stands  at  the  entering  in  of  the  cave  and  hears  the 
command  and  comfort  of  God.  God  often  rouses 
us  by  these  outward  demonstrations  of  his  power, 
that  we  may  listen  to  the  quiet  speaking  of  his 
voice. 

Tlie  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  us  will  employ 
various  methods.  In  the  first  place,  it  will  be  a 
direct  spiritual  influence  upon  our  hearts ;  tlie 
Spirit  of  God  coming  into  contact  with  our  spirit, 
touching  it,  affecting  it,  as  light  flows  into  light, 
as  air  flows  into  air,  as  water  flows  into    water, 


148  CAMBRIDGE  SER3T0NS. 

simply  passing  through  our  spirit,  as  light  passes 
through  a  crystal,  which  is  one  of  the  illustrations 
that  have  been  given.  Again,  the  Spirit  will 
oftentimes  come  to  us  through  our  conscience, 
quickening  it,  making  it  speak  with  a  more  author- 
itative voice.  He  will  come  again  through  our 
reason,  guiding  us  by  our  processes  of  thought  to 
certain  conclusions  which  are  in  accordance  with 
the  will  of  God.  Again,  he  will  come  to  us 
through  our  experience,  teaching  us  the  lessons  of 
our  own  life  and  impressing  them  upon  us  until  we 
are  wiser  by  that  through  which  we  have  passed. 
Again,  he  will  come  to  us  through  the  opportuni- 
ties of  life,  Avhich  is  one  of  his  favorite  ways  of 
approach,  showing  us  what  we  may  do,  and  what 
we  ought  to  do,  only  that  he  may  reveal  to  us  the 
will  of  God,  and  may  bring  us  up  into  that  which 
is  higher  and  holier  in  life.  Again,  and  more 
especially,  he  will  come  to  us  through  the  truth  of 
God.  If  holy  men  as  they  were  moved  by  God 
have  written  the  Scriptures,  men  are  to  read  the 
Hol}^  Scriptures  as  they  are  moved  by  him.  He 
will  take  the  word  out  of  the  lips  of  prophet  and 
apostle ;  he  will  take  the  word  of  Christ,  which 
to-day  to  us  may  have  no  meaning ;  and  he  will 
repeat  the  word,  and  make  us  think  upon  it,  and  feel 
it,  until  the  word  becomes  light  and  life  to  our  soul. 
He  will  speak  to  us  through  the  truth  uttered  by 
the  preacher's  voice,  by  the  teacher's,  by  the 
father's  or  mother's,  oftentimes  by  words   which 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  149 

have  gained  power  because  the  lips  Avhich  uttorecl 
them  have  turned  to  dust.  How  many  of  the 
memories  of  life,  repeating  the  truths  which  those 
have  spoken  who  have  fallen  upon  sleep,  are  sim- 
ply the  way  which  the  Holy  Spirit  takes,  uttering 
his  truth  in  language  from  which  we  cannot  turn 
away,  in  a  voice  whose  tones  have  become  sweeter 
to  us  because  we  have  lost  sight  of  the  face  whicli 
Avas  before  us  when  they  were  spoken  ;  taking  the 
words  of  a  sainted  father  or  of  a  holy  mother,  and 
in  their  language,  in  the  very  tones  of  their  voice, 
trving  to  repeat  to  us  the  thought  of  God.  You 
say  it  is  your  father  speaking  to  you;  it  is  the 
Holy  Ghost  speaking  through  a  father's  voice. 
You  say  you  have  tender  memories  of  your 
mother;  the  Holy  Spirit  comes  through  those 
recollections,  thinking  that  now^  he  has  the  word 
which  you  cannot  resist,  that  at  least  you  will 
hear  her  who  was  the  dearest  to  you,  and  that  he 
may  persuade  you  into  the  ways  of  God.  He  will 
come  ag^ain  throuq;h  the  Church  and  its  ordi- 
nances  and  its  sacraments,  which  have  no  grace  by 
virtue  of  their  nature,  but  which  are  made  the 
vehicle  of  the  grace  of  God  to  men. 

It  is  evident  that  in  all  these  ways  it  is  the  pur- 
pose of  God  to  find  our  hearts,  and  it  is  t\^ 
method  of  God  to  enter  into  our  hearts,  that  there 
lie  may  control  us.  The  Spirit  of  God  does  not 
come  to  add  a  cubit  to  our  stature.  He  does  not 
make   one   hair   white    or   black.      He   may   not 


150  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

enlarge  our  resources.  He  may  not  strengthen 
our  intellect — yet  I  suppose  he  does.  If  I  am 
not  mistaken,  a  man  has  a  stronger  mind  and 
stronger  reasoning  faculties,  lie  has  a  larger  intel- 
lect, when  God  is  in  his  mind.  A  man's  power  to 
study  and  grasp  truth,  all  the  truth  of  God,  in 
nature,  in  religion,  in  science  and  in  philosophy, 
is  greatest  when  the  man's  mind  and  heart  are  full 
of  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God. 

But  it  will  be  asked,  how,  if  these  things  are  to 
be  discerned  spiritually,  and  are  to  be  the  spirit- 
ual woTking  of  God  in  us,  can  we  bring  him  to  us 
that  this  power  shall  become  a  reality  in  our 
experience?  If  it  were  a  man,  we  might  call 
him  ;  if  it  were  a  school,  we  might  enter  it ;  if 
it  were  a  book,  we  might  read  it.  But  if  it  be 
the  coming  of  spirit  into  spirit,  what  can  we 
who  are  in  the  flesh  do,  that  he  may  enter  into 
■QS  ?  The  question  indicates  a  common  mistake. 
Strange  that  men  should  think  that  there  is  some- 
thing we  must  do  in  order  to  bring  God  near 
to  us,  when  God  is  as  close  to  us  as  our  own  life  ; 
when  within  God  we  are  living  and  moving. 
They  cannot  have  read  the  Bible  if  they  think 
that  in  some  way  they  must  search  the  heavens 
to  bring  God  clown,  or  descend  into  the  dejDths 
to  bring  God  up.  He  is  near  our  hearts  to-day. 
What  is  the  whole  representation  of  Scripture  ? 
That  God  is  speaking  to  us,  and  is  so  near  that 
we  can  hear  his  voice.     What  is  the  promise  to 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  151 

pra3^er?  That  God's  ear  is  so  near  that  he  hears 
us,  even  when  we  do  not  lisp  the  words.  How 
sliall  God  be  nearer  to  a  man  than  tliat  ?  Is  he 
not  always  calling  us,  not  waiting*  to  be  called  of 
us  ?  Is  he  not  always  pleading  with  us,  entreat- 
ing us,  warning  us,  that  he  may  bring  us  to  him- 
self? How  vivid  is  that  language  of  Scripture  : 
"  Behold,  I  stand  at  the  door  and  knock."  Let 
me  warn  you  against  the  error,  that,  staying 
within  your  bolted  doors,  you  must  wait  for  God 
to  come  down  out  of  the  heavens ;  lifting  up  your 
voice,  beseeching  him  to  come,  that  you  may  feel 
his  presence.  If  you  would  stop  talking  long 
enough,  3'ou  would  hear  his  knock  at  the  door ; 
if  you  would  be  still  long  enough,  you  would  find 
his  finger  at  the  latch ;  if  you  would  only  open 
your  heart,  you  would  find  him  within  the  heart. 

Yet  are  we  not  told  in  the  Scriptures  that  we 
must  ask  for  the  Holy  Spirit  ?  Is  it  not  said  that 
God  will  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask 
him?  Yes;  but  in  what  connection  is  it  said? 
It  is  said  that  God  will  give  the  Holy  Spirit  as  a 
loving  father  will  give  bread  to  his  children  — 
bread,  the  staff  of  life;  tlie  spirit,  the  staff  of  life. 
But  how  does  the  father  give  to  his  child?  Are 
your  cliildren  in  the  habit  of  begging  you  for 
bread?  Do  they  go  to  bed  at  niglit  anxious  lest 
there  should  be  no  food  for  them  ?  Do  you  not 
provide  the  bread,  and  place  it  upon  the  table,  and 
summon  tlieni  to  eat,  perhaps  oftentimes  compel 


152  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS. 

them  to  go  in?  The  askin<;  of  a  child  for  bread 
is  answered  before  it  is  heard.  Your  child  has 
not  prayed  for  his  dail}^  bread  for  this  noon  and  this 
evening,  but  you  have  it  ready.  He  may  ask,  but 
tliere  is  no  need  of  begging.  The  prayer  for  the 
Holy  Sj)irit  will  be  the  natural  expression  of 
desire.  We  should  ask  out  of  a  heart  which 
knows  that  it  will  have  the  blessing  as  it  is  sure 
of  the  Father's  love  and  has  the  Father's  promise, 
and  his  presence.  We  must  open  the  heart,  open 
the  nature,  open  the  spirit,  and  let  the  Spirit 
come  in. 

The  light  as  it  shines  out  of  the  heavens  falls 
upon  the  marble,  j)lays  upon  its  surface,  brightens 
it  for  a  moment,  but  does  not  pass  within  it.  The 
marble  is  not  open  to  the  light.  The  same  light 
falls  upon  the  diamond,  harder  than  marble,  passes 
into  it,  and  there  divides  its  own  brightness,  its 
purple  and  its  gold,  and  flashes  it  out  before 
the  e3'es  of  men.  Be  not  the  marble,  and  let 
the  Spirit  of  God  lie  upon  the  stony  heart.  Be 
the  diamond,  and  let  the  Spirit  of  God  enter 
into  the  heart  to  enlighten  it,  to  linger  in  it,  to 
make  it  bright  and  beautiful,  until  men  shall 
behold  its  glory  as  it  is  illumined  with  the  glory 
of  God.  But  for  this  it  is  necessary  to  put  far 
from  us  all  alien  things  —  the  unholy  thing,  that 
we  may  have  holiness  ;  the  selfish  thing,  that  we 
may  have  charity ;  the  earthly  thing,  that  we 
may  have  the  heavenly.     We  must   give    all  we 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  153 

have  ;  part  with  all  our  pearls  for  a  better  one, 
sell  A,ll  our  land  for  a  field  with  a  treasure  in  it  ; 
give  up  ourselves  to  find  God  ;  give  up  this  world 
to  find  heaven ;  give  up  our  sin  to  find  righteous- 
ness ;  give  up  to-day  to  find  the  endless  3^ears. 

We  are  to  obey  Christ  if  we  would  have  the 
Holy  Spirit.  He  said,  "  If  ye  love  me,  heep  my 
commandments,  and  I  will  pray  the  Father,  and 
he  sliall  give  you  another  Comforter,  that  he  may 
abide  with  3^ou  forever."  Do  the  will  of  the  Christ, 
and  you  shall  have  the  Spirit  of  the  Christ. 

Perhaps  it  will  be  said  that  these  methods  which 
I  have  sketclied  are  rather  the  result ;  that  they 
are  the  things  to  be  obtained  through  the  Spirit, 
rather  tlian  the  method  by  which  we  may  receive 
the  Spirit.  I  think  the  j)oint  is  well  taken  ;  yet 
one  falls  naturally  into  this  way  of  speaking. 
Before  you  open  your  heart  to  the  Spirit,  tlie 
Spirit  must  enter  your  heart  himself,  that  is  true. 
Before  3'ou  obey  Christ,  the  Spirit  of  Christ  must 
come  to  you. 

Suppose,  then,  we  change  the  thought  for  a 
moment.  What  am  I  to  do  that  I  may  receive 
the  Holy  Spirit  ?  A  man  can  have  the  Spirit  of 
God  by  consenting  to  his  influence.  Yield  to  him 
and  he  will  stay  with  you  ;  consent  to  his  control 
and  he  will  control  you  ;  be  willing  to  be  holy  and 
he  will  make  }'0U  hoi}'.  This  whole  matter  of 
bringing  the  Holy  Spirit  into  the  control  of  our 
life  and  into  the  sanctifying  of  our  body  and  of 


154  cambhibge  sermons. 

our  spirit  \\\^j  be  set  in  a  single  word  ;  and  that 
word  is  obedience.  He  wlio  will  obey  God's  Spirit 
sluill  have  God's  Spirit ;  shall  be  guided  by  him, 
and  that  forevermore.  There  is  no  royal  road  but 
this.  If  you  want  the  Spirit  of  God  to  control 
you,  he  will. 

I  think  that  there  is  nothing  told  us  in  the  New 
Testament  of  the  method  in  which  we  are  to  bring 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  us.  God  seems  to  have  taken 
that  entirely  into  liis  own  hands.  You  will  find 
these  promises  repeated  :  "  The  Father  will  send 
the  Spirit,"  "  The  Spirit  will  come  to  you."  We 
are  dependent.  Let  God  choose  the  method  of  his 
own  work.  He  promises  that  the  spirit  shall  abide 
with  us,  if  we  want  him ;  not  as  a  stranger  or  a 
guest,  or  a  servant,  but  as  a  friend.  We  are  to 
want  him,  and  be  sensitive  to  his  presence,  and  we 
shall  have  the  Spirit  of  God. 

We  can  make  this  a  little  more  distinct,  perhaps, 
by  recalling  the  things  which  the  Holy  Spirit  is  to 
do.  He  has  three  departments  of  work:  first,  he 
is  to  glorify  Christ.  The  Spirit  of  God  when 
he  comes  to  you  will  seek  to  glorify  Christ. 
If  he  points  to  Christ,  you  are  to  look  to 
Christ.  If  he  repeats  the  words  of  Christ, 
you  are  to  hear  them.  If  he  lays  down  the 
commands  of  Christ,  5^ou  are  to  receive  them. 
He  seeks  to  make  Christ  great  and  glorious  in 
your  e3^es  ;  and  if  you  will  let  Christ  be  glorified, 
then  the  Holy  Spirit  will  intensify  the  glory  for- 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  155 

ever.  Secondly,  he  is  to  guide  into  all  truth. 
If  you  want  to  be  guided  into  all  truth,  then  enter 
into  all  truth.  Take  the  Word  of  God ;  open  it 
before  you  ;  let  the  Spirit  of  God  interpret  it ;  and 
when  you  have  found  a  truth,  believe  it ;  when 
you  have  found  a  promise,  trust  it ;  when  you 
have  found  a  command,  do  it.  Yield  to  this  touch 
whicli  comes  up  through  the  words  of  .Scripture, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  will  bless  the  truth  to  you. 
If  he  tells  you  that  this  is  the  path  to  walk  in, 
walk  in  it,  and  he  will  lead  you  to  the  end.  Then 
thirdly,  if  he  is  to  regenerate  us,  if  he  is  to  bring 
us  out  of  unrighteousness  into  holiness,  let  us 
consent  to  take  up  the  new  plans  of  life  ;  to  take 
out  of  our  life  everything  that  is  unholy ;  to  con- 
sent to  do  right  and  to  be  wholly  right  with  God ; 
to  consent  to  have  our  spirit  sanctified  and  to  have 
the  earnest  of  that  sanctifying  which  is  to  make 
even  this  vile  body  a  spiritual  body  like  our  Lord's. 
It  was  a  very  striking  remark,  an  interesting 
thought,  of  one  of  my  predecessors  in  this  minis- 
try. He  made  a  vo^'age  around  the  world  a  few 
years  ago,  and  in  his  leisure  he  wrote  a  sermon. 
He  tells  us  how  much  he  was  impressed  by  one 
thing  on  shipboard ;  and  that  was  the  man  at  the 
wheel.  Summer  and  winter,  all  through  the 
voyage,  there  stood  that  man.  The  captain 
might  be  away  ;  the  crew  might  be  absent ; 
everybody  else  but  this  one  man  and  the  ofQcer 
of  the  deck  might  be  asleep,  might  be  at  worship. 


156  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

might  be  engaged  in  any  of  the  affairs  of  the  ship, 
but  there,  through  day  and  night,  was  that  con- 
stant man  at  the  wheeL  The  touch  of  his  hand 
governed  the  ship,  ordered  the  sails,  guarded  the 
treasure  of  merchandise  and  men.  The  ship  was 
in  the  control,  under  the  captain,  of  that  man's 
will,  of  his  virtue,  of  his  power, — of  that  man's 
spirit.  Now  the  remark  to  wliich  I  alluded  was 
this:  Doctor  Adams  says,  "The  suggestions  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  are  the  man  at  the  wheel  in  our 
souls."     I  will  leave  you  to  think  it  out. 

I  have  not  forgotten  the  Avords  which  I  read  as 
the  text.  This  which  I  have  said  is  an  illustra- 
tion, an  unfolding  of  that  word  of  the  apostle, 
"  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God."  If  any  one 
shall  ask  how  may  I  grieve  the  Holy  Spirit,  I  can 
only  say  by  failing  to  do  this  which  I  have  de- 
scribed. Neglecting  him,  that  is  grieving  him.  Re- 
fuse to  listen,  that  is  grieving  him  ;  refuse  to  obey, 
that  is  grieving  him.  Make  him  know  that  you 
do  not  want  him,  and  after  a  time  he  will  go  his 
v/ay  and  you  will  be  left  to  yourself.  There  is 
but  one  way  to  possess  him  permanently,  and  that 
is  to  obey  him.  There  is  but  one  way  to  grieve 
him,  and  that  is  to  neglect  him.  The  ship  answers 
to  her  helm,  and  the  will  of  the  man  is  done. 
The  life  answers  to  the  Spirit,  and  the  will  of  the 
Spirit  is  done.  We  think  his  thoughts,  we  are 
governed  by  his  purposes,  and  thus  we  honor  him 
and  have  his  power.     We  leave  him,  and  he  leaves 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIRIT.  157 

US.  There  are  otlier  words  beside  these.  St.  Paul 
was  fond  of  tlie  tender  words.  There  are  differ- 
ent words  which  describe  the  same  thing.  Thus, 
Isaiah  speaks  of  "wearjdng"  God.  Do  you  sup- 
pose you  could  stand  and  knock  at  a  man's  door 
as  long  as  God  has  knocked  at  yours,  and  not  be 
tired  of  it  ?  Ezekiel  uses  anothor  word  ;  he  speaks 
of  "  fretting  "  God.  It  is  a  strange  word.  You 
know  what  it  means ;  to  be  annoyed  and  hin- 
dered ;  not  to  be  struck  or  denounced,  only  to  be 
worried.  We  may  do  this  by  thinking  of  the  Spirit 
and  then  forgetting  liim ;  going  a  little  way  with 
him,  and  then  turning  back ;  professing  great 
things  on  Sunday,  and  on  Monday  denying  them. 
It  is  an  admirable  word.  It  would  fret  you  to 
have  your  child  do  so  ;  and  Ezekiel  says  that  God 
is  fretted,  speaking  after  the  manner  of  men. 
Then  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews says,  that  we  ma}^  "do  despite,"  malice, 
wrong,  cruelty,  unto  the  Spirit  of  God.  Perhaps 
the  strongest  use  of  the  word  which  here  is  trans- 
lated "grieve,"  is  in  the  account  of  our  Lord's 
suffering  in  Gethsemane,  where  it  is  said  that  he 
became  "  exceeding  sorrowful."  The  word  for 
"  sorrowful  "  is  this  word  "grieve."  I  do  not  like 
to  say  it,  but  it  seems  like  making  a  Gethsemane 
in  our  hearts,  to  resist  the  Holy  Spirit.  Jesus 
entered  into  the  garden  and  began  to  be  "  exceed- 
ing sorrowful."  Do  not  make  the  Holy  Spirit 
"  exceeding   sorrowful."     God    is   trying   all    the 


158  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

time  to  help  you,  all  the  while  to  teach  3^011  and  to 
save  you,  to  exalt  you,  and  if  you  are  persistently 
slighting,  wounding,  bruising  him,  until  the  soul 
becomes  the  garden  Avith  the  olive-trees,  then  is 
the  Saviour,  the  Comforter  of  men,  "exceeding 
sorrowful.''  Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God. 
There  is  another  spirit;  it  is  the  spirit  of  the 
world.  It  is  a  spirit  in  men  and  women ;  St. 
Paul  called  it  "  the  course  of  this  world,"  and  "  the 
prince  of  the  power  of  the  air."  It  works  against 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  it  strives  to  draw  us  away 
from  Christ  and  the  things  of  Christ ;  and  often 
it  succeeds.  I  have  seen  this  spirit  of  the  world 
come  to  men.  The  Spirit  of  God  had  been  trying 
to  win  them  to  Christ  the  Saviour.  They  were 
almost  persuaded,  until  there  came  this  other 
spirit,  touching  their  thoughts  and  turning  them 
the  other  way ;  touching  the  affections  and  turning 
them  from  God.  It  comes  like  an  angel  of  light, 
of  course  ;  it  has  wings  which  shine  in  the  partial 
light,  and  it  wins  men  from  God ;  they  turn  away 
from  Christ ;  they  think  less  uj)on  him ;  they 
give  up  their  good  purposes ;  they  become  more 
and  more  earthy,  until  their  spiritual  nature 
hardens  and  shrinks.  The  spirit  of  the  world 
binds  men  hand  and  foot.  Still  the  Spirit  of  God 
will  break  the  bands  if  men  will  let  him  ;  but  the 
bands  are  tight  and  strong,  and  many  a  man  is 
dragged  to  his  death  by  the  unholy  spirit,  the  spirit 
of  this  world,  the  prilice  of  the  power  of  the  air. 


GRIEVING  THE  HOLY  SPIIilT.  159 

I  wish  that  were  the  whole  ;  but  sometimes  this 
spirit  of  the  workl  comes  even  into  a  heart  into 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  has  entered.  A  man 
makes  his  confession  of  Christ  and  enters  the 
Church.  He  becomes  zealous  for  the  good  of 
others.  He  runs  well  for  a  time,  as  St.  Paul 
said,  and  you  picture  for  him  a  noble  career,  until 
presently  he  becomes  inconstant ;  drops  a  service 
here  and  there  ;  has  less  and  less  interest  in  divine 
things.  He  sa3^s  his  business  requires  it,  which  is 
not  true.  He  says  the  necessities  of  this  world 
require  it,  though  the}^  never  do.  The  spirit  of 
the  world  tells  him,  "  You  cannot  afford  to  be  an 
earnest  Christian  man.  Give  that  over  to  people 
of  leisure.  You,  with  your  peculiar  temperament, 
were  never  made  to  be  useful ;  with  your  circum- 
stances it  was  never  expected  that  you  would  be  a 
witness  for  Christ.  You,  with  the  society  3'ou 
move  in,  with  your  associates,  with  your 
pleasures — how  hopeless  it  is  for  you  to  try 
to  be  a  Christian."  It  is  said  that  it  is 
hard  to  be  a  Christian  in  these  days.  If  it  is, 
it  is  not  because  the  Spirit  of  God  is  not  here,  but 
because  the  spirit  of  this  world  is  liere ;  and  many 
a  Christian  heart  gives  up  its  faith,  casts  away  its 
joy  and  its  strength,  sinks  into  uselessness,  and 
makes  itself  more  and  more  tlie  centre  of  itself, 
until  the  Spirit  of  God  is  grieved.  I  will  not  say 
how  far  a  man  may  go  in  doing  despite  to  the 
Spirit  of  God  and   yet  attain  to  heaven  at  last. 


160  cambhidge  sermons. 

But  it  is  so  sad  that  a  man  should  go  to  heaven 
alone,  and  that  all  the  path  which  he  treads  should 
be  filled  with  a  grieving  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

What  is  the  remedy  ?  Why,  simply  yielding  to 
the  Holy  Spirit.  If  he  inspires  you  with  any  new 
thought,  take  it ;  if  he  tells  you  there  is  some- 
thing to  be  done,  do  it ;  if  it  is  impressed  upon 
you  that  there  is  something  to  say,  say  it;  if  he 
comes  with  prohibition,  let  the  prohibited  thing 
alone.  Expect  nothing  but  the  gentle  touch  upon 
your  heart.  If  anything  interferes  with  your 
spiritual  welfare,  leave  it.  The  Holy  Spirit  means 
to  use  your  work  and  your  play ;  to  use  your 
learning  and  your  life.  You  are  not  to  cut  ofp 
the  right  hand  unless  it  offends ;  you  are  not  to 
spare  it  if  it  does  offend  you. 

This  subject  is  one  of  extreme  solemnity.  But 
I  have  to  leave  you,  as  it  is  always  best  for  a 
preacher  to  do,  unto  the  divine  guidance ;  and  I 
do  it  with  this  word.  If  there  is  borne  in  upon 
your  thought  and  mind  to-day  the  feeling  of 
anything  which  you  ought  to  do,  obey  the  im- 
pulse. Trust  God  and  move  on.  The  first  step 
in  the  spiritual  life  is  the  first  step  towards  the 
eternal  glory.  It  is  not  difiicult  to  understand 
that  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost  which  hath  no 
forgiveness.  It  is  the  final  parting  of  the  soul 
from  God.  When  God  the  Father  comes,  if  he  is 
rejected,  there  remain  the  Son  and  the  S[)irit. 
When  God  the  Son  comes,  if  he  is  rejected,  there 


GRIEVING  TUE  UOLY  SPIRIT.  161 

remains  still  the  Spirit.  Christ  may  bring  a  man 
to  the  Father,  the  Spirit  may  bring  a  man  to  the 
Son,  and  so  to  the  Father ;  but  when  one  has 
despised  tlie  Holy  Spirit,  there  is  nothing  beyond. 

If  I  may  use  such  an  expression,  a  man  has 
three  chances  in  life.  He  can  make  up  his  life 
under  God  the  Father,  If  he  'loses  that,  he  may 
perhaps  make  it  up  under  the  Son.  If  he  loses 
that  he  may  perhaps  make  it  up  under  the  Spirit. 
But  if  he  loses  the  Spirit  of  God,  there  is  nothing 
afterwards  ;  no  covenant  merc}^  no  encouragement. 
A  man  has  nothing  to  hope  for,  if  the  love  of  God 
has  not  held  him,  and  the  cross  of  Christ  has  not 
won  him,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  cannot  persuade 
him. 

The  unpardonable  sin  against  the  light  is  to  put 
out  the  eyes.  The  unpardonable  sin  against  food 
is  to  refuse  to  eat.  The  unpardonable  sin  against 
God  is  not  to  let  God  govern  us  and  save  us. 
The  unpardonable  sin  is  to  throw  away  tlic  last 
of  a  man's  three  chances  of  life ;  to  refuse  tliat 
Spirit  which,  moving  in  our  spirits,  would  bring 
us  to  Christ  the  Saviour,  and  to  God  the  Father 
of  us  all. 


O  Spirit,  beautiful  and  dread! 

My  heart  is  fit  to  break 
With  love  of  all  thy  tenderness 

For  us  poor  sinners'  sake. 


IX. 

TURNING  NORTHWARD. 

[a  kew  year's  sermon.] 

Scripture  Lesson  :  Phil.  Chapter  iii. 
Text:      Ye  have  compassed  this  mountain  long  enough; 
turn  you  northward.     Deut  ii:  3. 

THIS  was  Mount  Seir.  The  children  of 
Israel  had  come  thus  far  on  their  way 
towards  the  land  which  they  were  to  possess.  They 
tarried-  around  the  mountain.  It  was  not  Egypt, 
with  its  bondage,  its  idolatry,  and  its  despair; 
but  it  was  not  the  land  of  promise,  with  its 
wealth,  its  opportunity,  and  its  blessings.  It 
was  not  here  in  the  wilderness  that  they  were  to 
build  the  city  of  God,  to  raise  up  the  prophets  and 
apostles  of  the  world,  and  to  form  a  State  and 
Church  which  would  represent  the  kingdom  of 
God  upon  the  earth.  Yet  they  lingered ;  they 
compassed  the  mountain  many  days,  until  at 
last  the  word  of  him  who  had  called  them  out  of 
Egypt  found  them :  "  Ye  have  compassed  this 
mountain  long  enough;  turn  you  northward." 

162 


TURNING  NORTHWARD.  163 

It  comes  to  us  very  often  Jn  life  to  need  the 
summons  which  came  to  these  our  bretliren.  We 
are  inclined  to  remain  where  we  are.  We  become 
engrossed  with  certain  pursuits  and  pleasures,  and 
come  to  think  that  life  has  found  its  limits  and 
henceforth  must  be  little  but  repetition  ;  until  the 
voice  of  God  comes  to  us,  sometimes  speaking  in 
our  conscience,  sometimes  through  a  world  Avhich 
calls  us  to  higher  duty,  sometimes  directly  by  the 
Spirit  of  God  in  our  spirit,  sometimes  through  the 
providence  which  tears  us  away  from  our  place, 
or  removes  those  things  which  have  detained  us. 
Thus  are  we  made  to  take  up  again  the  way  and 
the  work  of  life  that  we  may  finish  that  whereunto 
we  are  created.  There  are  two  movements  in  this 
world.  They  have  been  aptly  described  as  the 
circular  and  the  onward  movement.  The  one  is 
that  movement  by  which  a  man  goes  the  round  of 
his  daily  duties  from  week  to  week  and  from  year 
to  year,  repeating  over  and  over  those  things 
which  it  is  well  for  him  to  do,  yet  making  no 
advance.  There  is  another  movement  wherein  a 
man,  fulfilling  the  course  of  his  ordinary  duties, 
still  makes  an  advance,  going  farther  and  farther 
from  the  place  where  he  started  and  towards  tliat 
which  is  to  be  the  crown  and  reward  and  rest  of 
his  life.  A  very  obvious  illustration  is  in  the 
motion  of  the  earth,  with  its  circular  movement 
upon  its  axis,  yet  with  that  which  is  its  larger 
movement  by  which  it  pushes  on  continually^  day 


164  CAMBIUDGE  SEllMONS. 

by  day,  in  a  larger  orbit  around  the  point  which 
is  the  centre  of  its  life.  Or,  if  this  be  too  con- 
tracted an  illustration,  this  whole  system  to 
which  we  belong  preserves  its  circular  movement ; 
it  compasses  the  mountain,  yet  all  the  wliile, 
through  centuries  which  are  unnumbered,  it  is 
pressing  on  its  way  around  some  remote  sun 
which  no  man's  eyes  have  ever  yet  beheld, 
in  an  orbit  Avhich  only  tlie  cycles  of  the  ages 
can  complete.  Our  life  is  to  be  after  this 
double  pattern.  We  are  to  repeat  those  things 
which  eacit  day  demands;  yet,  as  we  do  them,  we 
are  to  press  our  way  around  some  distant  centre 
in  an  endless  course.  There  are  certain  things 
which  must  be  done  day  after  day,  ns  long  as  we 
live.  The  necessities  of  life  are  continually  recur- 
ring and  with  very  little  change ;  and  there  comes 
to  us  a  great  economy  of  time  because  we  acquire 
great  facility  in  execution,  through  this  continual 
repetition,  until  they  demand  very  little  thought, 
and  to  do  them  becomes  almost  a  second  nature, 
or  the  instinctive  work  of  life.  The  great  danger 
is  not  tliat  we  shall  neglect  these  things,  though 
possibly  we  need  a  word  of  admonition  at  that 
point,  and  to  be  reminded  that  we  are  not  to 
despise  the  things  which  are  small,  the  common 
daily  duties,  those  things  without  which  life  would 
be  out  of  joint,  and  nothing  great  could  be  accom- 
plished. The  very  monotony  of  life  marks  the 
stability  of  purpose  and  method  which  we  have 


TUBNING  NORTIIWABD.  165 

learned  of  God.  But  the  greater  danger  is,  that 
we  shall  mistake  this  continual  movement  for  an 
advance,  and  shall  think  that  we  are  doing  all 
which  really  is  required  of  us,  and  all  that  we  can 
do  for  ourselves,  if  we  are  continually  busy.  If 
all  the  while  we  are  doing  something,  and  that 
something  is  a  useful  thing,  we  may  assume  that 
we  are  fulfilling  the  great  end  of  life.  So  we 
shall  settle  down  into  that  which  is  simple  and 
monotonous,  and  never  advance,  however  much 
the  years  may  come  within  our  reach ;  reading  as 
we  have  read,  feeling  as  we  have  felt,  going 
through  life  with  the  same  design,  and  filling  up 
the  life  that  comes  to  us  out  of  the  same  methods 
with  the  life  that  has  passed  from  us. 

I  think  we  hear  to-da}',  as  the  je^r  closes,  the 
voice  of  God  speaking  to  us,  not  as  the  children 
of  Israel,  not  as  any  special  men  and  women  in 
any  special  time,  but  speaking  that  which  men  all 
the  ages  through  have  needed  to  hear ;  the  sum- 
mons of  God  to  something  more,  bidding  us  press 
on  to  that  which  is  still  beyond  us,  if  so  be  we 
may  make  life  greater  than  it  is.  It  is  unques- 
tionably true  that  we  have  trodden  the  rounds  of 
another  twelvemonth,  every  one  of  us.  It  is  cer- 
tainly true  that  we  have  slept  and  waked,  we  have 
been  eating  and  drinking,  we  have  gone  forth  to 
our  work  in  the  morning,  and  we  have  come  home 
at  night,  we  have  filled  up  the  months,  and  we 
think  we  have  been  very  much  engaged.     It  is  a 


16G  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

doubtful  matter,  at  the  best,  whether  we  have 
simply  been  treading  round  and  round  in  the  same 
little  circle,  or  whether  we  have  succeeded  in  tak- 
ing one  step  beyond  our  past.  This  is  the  last 
day  of  the  year  —  of  what  year?  This  year  of 
grace  which  we  call  1S82.  Is  it  also  the  last  day 
of  1881,  1880,  1879,  1859?  Is  it  the  same  old  end- 
ing  of  a  year  which  finds  us  still  tracing  the  same 
circle  ?  If  we  are  not  wiser  than  we  were  a  year 
ago,  if  we  are  not  stronger  for  God  and  ourselves, 
this  is  not  the  close  of  1882  much  more  than  it  is 
the  close  of  1881,  or  1880  ;  and  so  far  as  advance 
and  profit  is  concerned,  we  might  almost  as  well 
have  slept  through  the  months,  to  have  been 
aroused  by  the  new  year's  bell,  which  tells  that 
the  train  is  pushing  on  from  another  station  along 
the  same  dull  track.  It  is  such  a  different  thing 
to  exist  and  to  breathe,  and  to  reckon  tlie  days  by 
the  calendar,  and  to  "grow  old,'' as  we  say,  from 
what  it  is  to  grow  better  and  stronger,  to  make 
the  world  feel  your  presence,  and  to  win  the  favor 
of  Heaven,  that  it  comes  as  a  word  of  benediction 
while  it  is  a  word  of  summons  to  our  spirits :  "  Ye 
have  compassed  this  mountain  long  enough  ;  you 
have  done  these  things  long  enough;  you  have 
had  these  methods,  and  hopes,  and  desires  long 
enough ;  you  are  too  old  to  keep  them  ;  life  is  too 
great  for  you  to  maintain  them ;  turn  you  north- 
ward into  something  better  than  you  have  done, 
and  into  something  greater  than  you  are." 


TURNING  NORTHWARD.  167 

If  I  may  indicate  one  or  two  points  in  which 
this  advance  may  be  made,  merely  touching  them, 
it  is  that  w^e  may  see  liow  it  is  possible  to  enhirge 
our  life.  First,  in  the  way  of  knowledge.  We 
ought,  in  this  coming  year  —  for  it  is  of  the  year 
to  come,  and  not  of  the  year  that  has  gone,  that 
I  speak  —  to  enlarge  our  knowledge.  We 
shall  be  reading :  we  ought  to  read  better  books, 
a  higher  grade  of  books  ;  as  our  children  will  pass 
on  to  books  which  are  more  advanced,  so  ought 
we  who  are  older.  There  are  books  which  will  task 
the  energies  of  any  one  of  us.  We  ought  to  grow 
w^iser  by  that  which  we  read.  If  it  is  simply  read- 
ing the  paper  which  is  no  more  to-day  than  it  was 
yesterday  ;  if  it  is  reading  the  current  gossip  which 
does  not  change  in  character  from  year  to  year,  if 
it  is  not  taking  hold  of  something  which  will  en- 
large the  substance  of  our  knowledge,  then  we 
shall  read  to  very  little  purpose.  We  enlarge  our 
knowledge,  too,  by  talking  with  men.  We  ought 
to  associate  with  better  men,  if  we  can,  than  those 
who  have  surrounded  us.  We  certainly  can  asso- 
ciate with  the  wisest  men,  and  wdien  they  are  at 
their  best,  if  we  will  take  their  books,  if  we  will 
take  the  influence  of  their  lives  as  it  comes  to  us 
through  their  works.  Out  of  this  will  come  in 
that  which  shall  strengthen  our  own  knowledge, 
enlarge  our  own  minds.  To  think  how  many  good 
men  are  waiting  for  us  if  we  will  break  from 
frivolous  companions;    to  think  how  many  grand 


168  CAMBRIDGE  SER3I0NS. 

books  are  waiting  patiently  for  us  that  we  may 
take  tliem  up  and  take  their  wisdom  into  us ;  this 
should  make  us  feel  that  there  is  something  to  be 
learned,  and  something  which  we  ought  to  learn. 

But  passing  from  knowledge  to  work,  we  can 
enlarge  our  work.  Very  likely  we  can  enlarge  our 
common  work ;  enlarge  the  volume  of  it.  It  is 
almost  certain  that  we  can  enlarge  the  character 
of  it,  taking  on  some  things  which  are  higher,  and 
in  advance  of  those  which  we  have  done.  We 
can  enlarge  our  charitable  work  as  it  reaches  out 
to  bless  the  world,  if  we  have  gained  that  secret 
of  all  true  living,  that  we  are  in  the  world  and 
taught  of  God  that  we  may  bless  the  world ;  and 
that  the  gains  of  life  come  to  us  not  to  be  kept, 
but  to  be  shared  with  others. 

Again,  take  the  matter  of  character.  We  can 
keep  the  character  we  have  to-day,  which  is  reason- 
ably honest,  and  amiable,  and  pleasant,  which 
does  not  very  much  reproach  us,  or  draw  to  us  the 
reproach  of  others  ;  or  we  can  strengthen  that 
character.  We  can  enlarge  our  conscience,  we 
can  broaden  our  reason,  we  can  get  a  stronger  and 
fuller  grasp  upon  truth,  we  can  get  a  higher  and 
holier  sense  of  duty,  we  can  get  hold  of  the  very 
meaning  of  life,  we  can  ask  and  answer  the  pro- 
found inquiries,'' Why  am  I  here?  Why  has  God 
in  his  mercy  kept  me  out  of  my  grave  for  an- 
other year  ?  Why  do  I  look  with  bold  eyes  down 
these     opening     months  ? "      We     can     enlarge 


TURNING  NOBTUWARD.  109 

the  purposes  of  life,  tlie  motives  which  shall  con- 
trol life.  We  can  enlarge  the  desire  of  life  ;  that 
which  shall  give  its  support  and  its  charac- 
ter to  the  very  soul  and  heart  which  lies  behind 
that  which  we  are  doing  before  men.  Thus  our 
manhood  shall  grow  by  the  continual  accession  of 
truth,  and  the  continual  performance  of  duty. 

Finally,  we  can  enlarge  our  religion,  on  the  side 
of  its  worship  and  on  the  side  of  its  work.  It  is 
not  enough  to  tread  the  round  of  Sabbaths  and  to 
come  and  go  through  the  gates  of  the  sanctuary; 
it  is  not  enough  to  have  stated  hours  of  prayer 
and  holy  communion,  and  to  be  content  with  these. 
We  can  enUirge  religious  experience  until  it  is 
deeper  and  broader.  We  can  enlarge  religious 
work  until  it  tells  more  for  good  upon  the  world. 
Prayer  should  be  to  us  what  it  has  never  been,  and 
the  Bible  more  than  it  ever  has  been;  these  varied 
means  of  grace,  wliich  are  the  summons  to  duty, 
should  give  to  us  that  largeness  of  spirit  and  that 
greatness  of  religious  accomplishment  w^hich  shall 
make  us  more  like  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Saviour  of  men.  We  ought  to  outgrow  that 
weakness  which  makes  our  religion  chiefly  regard 
ourselves.  That  momentous  question  which  is 
asked  so  often,  and  for  which  sometimes  we  claim 
merit,  was  the  question  of  a  frightened  Pagan.  We 
oueht  to  have  outo^rown  it.  There  is  no  one  of  us 
who  should  not  have  left  it  behind  him  years  ago  : 
"  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "       Have  we  not 


170  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

answered  that,  and  taken  the  answer  practically 
into  our  lives  ?  Tliat  question  should  be  changed 
into  the  affirmation  of  the  Son  of  God,  which 
reaches  be3^ond  the  question  which  looks  to  our 
own  salvation,  and  teaches  the  divine  motive  of 
all  worthy  living,  "  Father,  I  have  glorified  thee 
upon  the  earth  :  I  have  finished  the  work  which 
thou  gavest  me  to  do." 

It  is  evident  that  in  these  four  respects  which  T 
have  named,  we  can  gain  accessions  of  that  which 
is  valuable  to  us  without  making  any  advance. 
Thus,  we  can  enlarge  our  knowledge  without 
enlarging  our  manhood.  We  may  be  just  as 
selfish  after  we  have  doubled  our  learning  as  we 
were  before ;  and  unless  we  grow  less  selfish,  we 
do  not  grow  more  manly.  Manhood  is  not  high 
learning  ;  the  tree  of  knowledge  never  has  been, 
and  never  can  be,  the  tree  of  life.  He  who  thinks 
he  is  fulfilling  his  life  by  increasing  his  knowledge, 
has  made  the  fearful  mistake  of  supposing  that 
the  value  of  things  is  in  their  bulk.  The  value  of 
things  is  in  their  character,  not  their  size.  So, 
passing  from  knowledge  into  work,  we  still  ma}^ 
enlarge  our  work  without  growing  any  greater  or 
making  any  advance.  That  work  may  still  keep 
its  old  centre,  the  self.  I  may  increase  my  busi- 
ness because  I  shall  get  more  profit ;  I  may 
increase  my  benevolence  because  it  ministers  more 
to  my  pleasure.  Thus  I  have  enlarged  my  life, 
but  I  have  not  enlarged  myself;  I  have  moved  no 


TURNING  NORTUWARD.  171 

nearer  to  God.  Indeed,  it  is  possible  for  benevo- 
lence itself  to  make  us  selfish,  centring  our 
thoughts  more  on  ourselves,  until  we  admire  that 
which  we  are  doing,  when  we  should  be  looking 
up  to  Him  who  is  the  giver  of  all  grace.  It  is  the 
same  with  character  itself.  We  may  get  a  knowl- 
edge of  truth  ;  we  may  nourish  our  conscience  and 
our  virtuous  life,  and  still  not  break  with  that 
centre  ;  still  it  may  be  all  for  ourselves.  To  say,  "  I 
must  be  better  in  order  that  I  may  be  happier,"  is 
as  selfish  as  to  say,  "  I  must  be  richer  in  order  to 
be  happier."  Character  must  look  on  beyond  it- 
self;  I  must  advance,  breaking  with  this  little 
circle,  or  I  have  not  grown  much  in  character.  It 
is  very  much  the  same,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
even  with  religion.  The  centre  of  my  religion 
may  still  be  my  heart  and  my  happiness  j  and  as 
long  as  I  keep  it  there  I  have  not  made  any  great 
advance.  Indeed,  I  may  pray  more,  "  Lord  bless 
me  ;  "  I  may  learn  to  emphasize  the  '^  me  ;  "  I 
may  grow  willing  even  to  repeat  the  "me  "  oftener 
than  I  have  ;  and  m}^  prayer  be  as  selfish  as  it  was 
before,  and  I  not  a  better  man.  It  is  when  I  can 
break  with  tliis,  and  look  to  something  beyond, 
getting  another  centre  for  this  widening  circumfer- 
ence of  my  life,  that  I  have  made  an  advance. 

Thus  the  call  of  God  here  by  his  prophet  to-day 
is,  "  Turn  you  northward.  You  have  compassed 
this  mountain  long  enough ;  you  have  stopped 
on  these  things  which  you  are  doing  and  this  way 


172  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS, 

of  doing  things  long  enough  ;  you  have  had  this 
measure  of  experience  long  enough;  you  have 
been  as  good  as  you  are  quite  long  enough.  Now 
turn  northward."  Well,  brethren,  where  is  north- 
ward ?  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  physically,  that 
northward  is  always  up  —  at  least,  in  all  our  rep- 
resentations of  it  —  from  the  time  the  boy  looks 
to  find  the  north  upon  liis  map  and  finds  it  at  the 
top  of  the  map,  to  the  time  when  the  man  looks 
up  into  the  heavens  for  the  North  Star.  Upward, 
Godward  ;  that  is  north.  The  only  north  is  where 
the  immovable  throne  of  God  stands.  The}^  tell  us 
that  the  star  which  we  call  the  North  Star  is  contin- 
ually changing,  and  that  the  time  is  coming  when 
the  mariner  must  take  another  star.  The  un- 
changing star  which  marks  the  true  north  is  the 
star  which  stands  over  the  place  where  He  is 
enthroned  who  was  tlie  little  child  beneath  the 
star  which  led  the  wise  men  to  his  manger. 

It  is  a  call  of  wonderful  power,  this  which  tells  us 
that  we  may  go  on  to  something  greater  than  we 
are.  We  are  to  do  this;  we  are  to  go  on  nearer  to 
God  —  nearer  to  God  in  our  thought,  in  our  pur- 
pose, in  our  life.  Or,  if  that  seems  too  general,  we 
are  to  go  on  to  that  which  God  has  designed  for 
us.  It  is  not  very  much  to  say,  but  it  is  a  stupen- 
dous thing  to  do.  We  are  to  fill  up  the  measure  of 
manhood  ;  not  to  be  gods,  not  to  be  angels,  but  to 
be  men ;  to  do  that  which  we  were  made  to  do, 
the  whole  of  it;   to  know  all  that  we  can  know,  to 


TURNING  NORTHWARD.  173 

do  all  that  we  can  do,  to  be  all  that  we  can  be, 
Cfoino'  on  until  we  attain  unto  the  measure  of  the 
stature  of  the  fulness  of  the  Christ. 

In  what  way  does  this  thought  appeal  to  us  this 
morning?     If  you  will  tell  me,  I  will  tell  you  how 
old  you  are.     If  this  thouglit  of  being  a  great  deal 
more  than  you  are   oppresses  you,  then  you  are 
old,  no  matter  wliat  the  family  record   may  say. 
If  you  have  no  tliought  of  going  on  beyond  where 
you  are  to-day,  then  the  years  are  upon  you.     If, 
on  the  other  hand,  you  are  receiving  with  gratifi- 
cation the  thought  that  you  can  be  more  ;  if  you 
feel  stirred  by  it ;  if  already  in  the  midst  of  this 
service  you  find  a  new  purpose  coming  up  ;  —  "I 
will  be  more,  I  will  do  more  in  the  year  to  come," 
your  hair  may  be  gray,  but  you  are  a  young  man. 
The  only  measure  of  age  is  heart,  and  the  measure 
of  heart  is  hope.     When  hope  is  dead,  a  man  is 
old;     when    hope  is  alive,  a   man   is  young.     So 
taught   tlie    prophet  when    he    said,  "  They    that 
wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength ; 
they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as  eagles,  they 
shall  run  and  not  be  weary,  they  shall  walk  and 
not  faint."     There  is  something,  if  we  are  .young 
enough  for  it,  which  is  quickening,  ennobling,  stim- 
ulating, and  most  pleasant  to  us  in  this  thought. 
We  feel  the  power  of  it ;   we  are  moved  to  greater 
action.     There  is  perhaps  no  great  movement  of 
life  which  is  not  toward  some  great  ideal,  or  under 
some  large  influence.     To  keep  the  store  tliis  year 


174  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS. 

as  we  did  the  last  is  too  jDetty  a  thing  for  any 
man's  ambition.  To  go  through  the  rounds  of 
professional  life  this  year  as  last,  is  a  dull  thing  for 
anybody  to  do.  To  read  the  papers  this  year  as 
last;  to  read  the  same  books,  or  the  same  kind  of 
books,  over  and  over ;  to  go  and  come  among 
the  same  associa°tes,  having  the  same  grade  of  con- 
versation; and  to  be,  when  another  year  ends,  un- 
certain whether  it  is  the  end  of  that  year,  or  the 
last  year,  it  is  dry  and  hard.  No  Avonder  a  man 
says,  "  Life  is  vanity  of  vanities,  and  what  is  the 
use  of  living  ?  ■'  No  wonder  men  say  sometimes 
under  their  breath,  "  I  wish  I  was  dead."  What 
is  there  to  live  for  when  there  is  no  hope,  and 
where  is  the  hope  if  it  is  not  in  the  thought  of  being 
more  to-morrow  than  we  are  to-day? 

The  king  asked  the  artist  who  liad  taught  him  to 
play,  and  Ole  Bull  answered,  "  The  mountains  of 
Norway,  your  Majesty."  The  mountains  of 
Norwa}^  poured  their  spirit  into  his  willing  spirit ; 
the  voices  of  Norway,  rolUng  from  its  cliffs  and 
sounding  from  its  valleys,  whispering  in  its  pines, 
and  murmuring  in  its  seas,  ran  sounding  and  thrill- 
ing along  the  strings  he" touched,  until  the  heart  of 
the  world  answered  to  his  heart.  Who  teaches  a 
man  to  be  great?  A  great  thought  of  God. 
What  makes  him  diligent  in  service?  I  ask  a 
man,  and  he  answers:  A  great  thought  of  charac- 
ter taught  me  how  much  I  can  be ;  a  magnificent 
thought  of  service  showed  me  how  much  I  can  do> 


TURNING  NORTHWARD.  175 

I  was  waked  to  it ;  I  was  summoned  by  it;  I 
heard  it  in  God's  providence  ;  I  listened  to  it  in 
God's  house  ;  that  I  might  break  with  m3^self, — 
break  the  very  centre  of  my  life  ;  that  I  miglit  push 
on  to  higher  employments  and  greater  accomplish- 
ments ;  that  I  might  have  a  more  profound  and 
blessed  experience.  When  I  heard  God  say  how 
great  I  might  be,  and  how  great  things  I  might  do 
for  liim ;  how  large  a  manhood  I  might  fulfil  and 
hoAV  much  of  divinity  I  might  possess,  then  the 
"  mountains  of  Norway  "  taught  me  to  live,  and  I 
live  in  the  life  that  evermore  grows  into  the 
stature  of  the  divine  fulness.  It  was  thus  that 
St.  Paul  became  great.  It  was  a  continual  en- 
largement of  his  life.  Not  content  with  treading 
the  streets  of  Tarsus,  from  school  to  school,  he 
pressed  his  way  to  Jerusalem ;  not  satisfied  with 
the  added  schools  of  Jerusalem,  or  to  wander 
through  the  intricacies  and  subtilties  of  Hebrew 
jurisprudence,  he  pressed  on  his  way  still,  keeping 
all  of  good  which  he  had  learned,  until  he  heard 
God's  voice  before  the  gate  of  Damascus  :  "  O, 
Saul,  Saul,  thou  hast  trodden  this  petty  round  long 
enough  ;  turn  northward  ;  "  and  he  went  out  to 
that  magnificent  career.  It  was  so  with  jMoses. 
After  his  long  years  in  Pharaoh's  palace,  going 
round  within  the  halls,  he  pressed  on  into  the  wil- 
derness; he  was  forty  years  in  the  wilderness 
keeping  sheep,  until  at  last  the  voice  of  God  came 
to  him,  speaking  out  of  the  bush  that  burned  and 


176  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

was  not  consumed,  "  Thou  hast  compassed  this 
mountain  long  enough,  turn  northward  -,  "  and  he 
went  down  to  become  one  of  the  leading  statesmen 
of  the  world.  It  was  so  with  our  Lord's  disciples ; 
fishermen  from  their  youth,  fishing  this  year  quite 
as  well  as  last,  next  year  as  well  as  this,  until  the 
voice  of  the  Lord  found  them ;  "  Simon,  son  of 
Jonas,  John,  James,  Andrew,  Thomas  —  you  have 
compassed  the  Sea  of  Galilee  with  your  boats  long 
enough:  turn  northward,  follow  me  and  I  will 
make  you  fishers." — "But,  Lord,  we  are  already 
fishermen  ;  we  do  not  think  we  can  learn  skill  in 
fishing  from  a  carpenter."  "  Follow  me,  and  I 
will  make  you  fishers  of  men  ;  turn  northward, 
beyond  the  Sea  of  Galilee,  beyond  the  hsh  that 
swim  in  their  multitudes  through  its  depths,  and 
you  shall  gather  men." 

This  is  the  summons  of  Christ  to  us.  The 
beginning  of  it  must  be  as  we  hear  his  voice,  and 
answer  to  it  —  Christ's  voice,  calling  and  inspiring 
us  for  higher  and  holier  things.  If  any  one  asks 
"•  What  am  I  to  do  ? "  there  is  always  but  one 
answer ;  "  You  are  to  "begin,  and  to  begin  as  you 
ought  to  begin."  One  great  reason  why  we  never 
advance  wisely,  is  because  we  never  begin  wisely. 

Begin  with  God;  give  yourself  to  God  here,  to 
Christ  here.  "  Lord,  I  take  thee,"  that  is  right. 
"  I  take  thee  for  my  Saviour,"  that  is  one  thing 
never  to  be  given  up.  "  I  take  thee  for  my 
Master,"  —  that  is  an    endless    beginning;   then 


TURNING  NOBTIlWAllI).  177 

in  obedience  to  him,  press  on.  "I  love  him,  I 
serve  him,  I  follow  where  he  leads  me."  It  is 
thus  that  we  go  on  to  a  high  and  holy  living,  and 
to  the  eternal  reward. 

There  are  one  or  two  thouglits  touching  this 
life  that  we  are  living  wliich  I  should  like  to  add  to 
what  I  have  already  said.  We  need  to-day,  per- 
haps we  need  every  day,  to  get  a  juster  view  of 
life.  We  are  very  familiar  with  it,  and  yet  how 
little  we  know  about  it.  It  is  such  a  simple  thing 
to  live,  to  keep  going  and  coming,  and  coming  and 
going.  More  rational,  intelligent  views  of  life 
will  certainly  very  greatly  change  our  lives.  We 
ought  to  look  upon  life  as  full  of  opportunity. 
We  say  we  are  entering  upon  a  new  year,  and  a 
new  year  is  a  great  thing.  I  know  how  brief  a 
year  seems  as  we  look  back  upon  it ;  but  there  is 
a  great  deal  of  time  in  a  year.  It  is  most  superfi- 
cial to  say  that  a  year  is  a  very  small  piece  of  life  ; 
it  is  a  large  piece  of  life.  Three  hundred  days  and 
more*,  three  hundred  days  wherein  we  can  be  mak- 
ing our  will  stronger  for  God  ;  three  hundred  days 
in  which  we  can  be  doing  good  in  the  world ;  serv- 
ing Christ,  loving  Christ ;  three  hundred  days  with 
their  hours  over  God's  word,  in  the  closet  and  in 
the  sanctuary ;  three  hundred  days  with  their 
Sabbaths  for  the  church,  and  the  ministry  and  the 
work  of  the  church  !  Why,  it  is  a  grand  thing,  a 
sublime  thing  to  have  so  much  time.  Time  is  to 
be   regarded   as    opportunity ;    not   as   something 


178  CAMBBIDQE  SERMONS. 

which  we  are  to  receive  simply  as  a  matter  with 
which  we  have  nothing  to  do,  but  to  let  it  come  to 
us  as  the  wind  comes  blowing  about  us.  We  are 
to  take  it  rather  as  the  wind  comes  to  the  sailor 
who  finds  he  has  a  use  for  it ;  who  cares  very  much 
whether  the  wind  blows  or  not,  and  which  way  it 
blows.  They  tell  us  sometimes  that  life  is  like 
a  stream.  It  seems  a  very  apt  comparison,  these 
years  are  passing  on  so  rapidly.  But  we  are  not  to 
stand  upon  the  bank  of  this  stream  and  look  out 
upon  it,  and  think  of  the  waves,  and  the  rapidity 
of  the  current,  and  whither  the  waters  are  hurry- 
ing so  fast.  We  are  to  feel  that  we  are  to  enter 
upon  this  stream  and  to  use  it.  We  are  not  to  be 
taken  up  by  it,  as  the  stream  takes  up  the  tree  which 
has  fallen  upon  its  bank  and  carries  it  on  whither- 
soever it  will.  We  are  not  to  go  upon  it  as  the 
raft  goes,  a  few  timbers  hastily  fastened  together 
to  last  a  few  days  until  something  else  shall  be 
found,  or  we  shall  strike  some  island  beyond.  We 
are  not  to  go  upon  it  as  the  boat  goes,  simply  to 
be  drifted  down  as  the  tide  runs  ;  nor  as  the  ferry- 
boat, which  sails  equally  well  in  all  directions,  and, 
with  a  continual  movement,  never  makes  much  of 
a  voyage.  I  think  we  are  rather  to  go  as  the  ship 
goes,  which  looses  from  its  moorings  and  turns  its 
prow  towards  the  distant  port,  with  a  strong  hand 
at  the  helm,  the  chart  spread  out  and  the  compass 
lighted  day  and  night,  while  it  seeks  boldly  its 
way  across  the  wide  seas  to  its  appointed  haven. 


TURNING  NORTHWARD.  179 

They  tell  us  that  life  is  a  vapor.  So  it  is. 
That  means  more  than  it  did  when  St.  James 
wrote  the  word.  Almost  the  mightiest  force  in  the 
world  to-day  is  vapor.  Condense  it,  heat  it,  and 
it  makes  the  ship  fly  from  shore  to  shore.  Put  it 
in  its  place,  and  it  turns  the  ponderous  machinery 
of  the  factory  and  clothes  the  land.  Life  is 
vapor;  thin,  transparent;  passing  away  into  the 
clouds.  The  good  man's  life  is  vapor  held, 
heated,  used ;  made  a  power  that  makes  the  world 
move.  The  value  of  life  is  to  be  found  in  what  we 
do  with  it.  As  I  have  intimated  already,  the 
measure  of  life  is  in  that  which  we  do  in  life. 
There  is  nothing  that  is  more  futile  and  deceptive 
than  the  attempt  to  measure  life  by  years.  It  was 
one  of  the  profound  remarks  of  a  wise  man,  that 
"  Time  is  not  the  measure  of  life,  but  life  is  the 
measure  of  time."  He  taught  the  students  how 
to  make  the  sun  stand  still  by  putting  the  work  of 
two  days  into  one.  "  By  crowding  the  year  with 
generous  purposes,  virtuous  efforts  and  noble  sac- 
rifices." The  only  hours  of  the  last  year  which 
are  of  mucli  account  are  those  in  which  we 
advanced ;  the  moments  in  which  we  moved  for- 
ward ;  the  days  in  which  we  learned  something ; 
the  days  in  which  you  did  something  are  the  real 
time.  The  rest  has  vanished  like  the  morning 
cloud. 

Do  I  ask,  then,  that  there  may  come  to  us  a 
higher  and  a  holier  life,  and   that  there  may  be 


180  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS. 

taken  upon  ns  more  work  and  better  work?  I 
know  the  res]3onse  at  once ;  that  we  are  over- 
worked already.  The  answer  is  too  easily  made. 
It  is  somewhat  significant  that  the  men  who  talk 
the  most  about  our  overAVork,  do  not  appear  to  be 
very  much  overworked  themselves.  It  is  the 
overwork  of  somebody  else,  usually,  which  they 
are  talking  about.  It  is  too  often  the  case  that 
the  people  who  are  afraid  of  too  much  work  are 
those  who  are  fond  of  their  beds.  I  do  not  find 
the  best  working  men  of  our  day  complaining  that 
there  is  too  much  to  do,  and  that  men  are  wearing 
out  too  fast.  They  believe  that  God  gives  a  man 
strength  for  duty,  and  that  when  a  man  can  no 
longer  work,  he  has  no  longer  any  need  to  live. 
God  gives  us  what  we  can  do,  and  we  are  to  take 
it  and  do  it.  Still,  are  we  not  very  busy,  are  we 
not  engaged  every  moment,  so  that  there  seems  no 
room  to  put  in  anything  else?  Very  likely;  I 
think  it  is  so  with  most  of  us  ;  but  I  do  not  see 
that  this  has  much  to  do  with  the  question  before 
us.  Suppose  we  do  not  enlarge  the  volume  of  our 
work,  but  only  the  character  of  it.  Can  you  not 
drop  some  things  which  you  are  doing  and  take 
on  better  things  ?  St.  Paul  said,  "  When  I  was  a 
child,  I  tliought  as  a  child,  I  spake  as  a  child ;"  but 
when  he  became  a  man,  lie  found  that  he  had  not 
room  enough  for  childish  things  and  manly  things 
too,  and  he  gave  up  childish  things,  and  took  on 
those  which  suited  his  years.     When  he  was  to 


TURNING  NOBTHWARD.  181 

run  a  race, he  forgot  the  things  which  were  behind; 
he  pat  off  the  things  that  troubled  and  beset  him ; 
not  because  his  raiment  was  not  good,  but  because 
he  could  not  run  with  it.  I  have  no  doubt  tluit 
every  one  of  us  is  carrying  many  things  which  are 
taking  up  his  time,  but  which  he  might  well 
enough  let  alone,  because  he  has  outgrown  them. 
What  are  the  engrossing  demands  of  my  life,  is  a 
simple  question  for  every  one  to  ask.  Are  there 
not  things  which  have  taken  hours  of  the  last 
year  for  which  we  are  too  old,  which  we  ought  to 
have  left  behind  us  while  we  turned  to  something 
better ;  tlnngs  which  somebody  else  who  was 
3'ounger,  who  had  not  been  taught  of  God  so 
long,  could  do  just  as  well?  I  think  that  it  is  so, 
and  I  believe  that  we  can  be  continually  dropping 
the  easier  and  the  smaller  things  to  our  children, 
to  young  men  and  to  young  women,  while  we 
take  up  those  which  are  more  fitting  our  years, 
and  go  on  and  do  them  steadfastly  to  the  end. 
The  glory  of  our  life  will  be  just  there  ;  it  is  when 
we  do  something  we  have  never  done  before,  and 
something  better  than  we  have  done  before,  that 
we  are  making  an  advance. 

It  was  asked  concerning  a  great  artist  once, 
"  Wherein  is  it  that  he  excels  ?  "  The  reply  was, 
"  He  begins  where  other  people  end."  We  cannot 
all  do  that,  for  tlicre  are  some  men  who  never  seem 
to  end  their  advance.  But  every  man  can  begin 
where  he  himself  had  ended.     We  can  begin  where 


182  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

we  have  already  stopped.  There  is  something  more 
which  we  can  do  for  the  world  ;  something  more 
for  God ;  something  more  for  our  own  life.  It 
may  require  giving  up  some  things  which  are  tak- 
ing our  time ;  but  our  vows  to  the  Church,  and  our 
duties  in  the  Church,  and  our  duties  to  God  and 
to  the  world,  we  can  meet  by  laying  aside  the 
poorer  things  for  the  better  ones ;  by  compassing 
the  mountain  no  longer  ;  by  taking  up  that  which 
is  real  and  pressing  our  way  forward. 

This  is  my  greeting  to-day.  Once  again  do  I 
wish  you  sincerely  a  ''  Happy  New  Year."  Per- 
haps we  have  compassed  these  words  long  enough. 
Let  me  put  my  wish  into  other  words ;  and  they 
shall  be  two  sentences  from  two  great  men.  The 
one  speaks  the  word  of  God  out  of  the  Old 
Scriptures,  and  the  other  out  of  the  New.  This, 
brethren  beloved,  is  my  wish  for  the  New  Year  : 

"  Ye  have  compassed  this  mountain  long 
enough  ;  turn  you  northward." 

"If  ye  then  be  risen  with  Christ,  seek  those 
things  which  are  above." 


X. 

WHAT  MUST  I  DO? 


Scripture  Lesson  :  Acts  viii  :  26-40. 

Text  :  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  Acts  xvi :  30. 

IT  is  a  question  of  interest  to  us  all.  It  con- 
cerns any  who  are  not  saved ;  it  concerns  all 
who  are  saved,  because  it  is  our  duty  to  save 
others.  The  question  asked  in  a  prison  has 
been  repeated  througli  the  world.  The  answer 
joined  to  it  has  gaiued  nothing,  lost  nothing, 
as  the  years  have  passed  by,  and  it  has  done 
its  work  of  mercy,  "blessing  him  who  gives 
and  him  who  takes."  There  is  but  one  answer  to 
the  question.  The  apostle  and  his  companion  had 
been  pursuing  their  work  in  Philippi,  that  Mace- 
donian, Grecian,  Roman  city.  They  had  stirred 
up  the  anger  of  the  people  and  the  avarice  of 
those  who  were  gaining  gold  by  an  unlawful  ser- 
vice. They  had  been  seized  by  the  mob,  dragged 
to  the  market-place  and  delivered  to  the  mag- 
istrates, who  stripped  them  of  their  robes,  beat 
them   with   rods,    and    committed    them   to    the 

183 


184  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

care  of  the  jailer  who  thrust  them  into  the  inner 
prison  and  made  their  feet  fast  in  the  stocks.  At 
midnight  they  prayed  and  sang  their  praises  unto 
God.  They  sang,  as  it  were,  a  "  new  song  ;  "  it 
was  new  to  them,  for  this  was  a  new  experience. 
They  sang  one  of  the  songs  in  the  night.  The 
book  of  Psahns,  with  which  they  were  familiar 
from  their  cliildhood,  abounds  in  hymns  which  would 
be  appropriate  at  such  a  time.  We  are  at  a  loss 
to  know  what  they  selected  for  their  worship  and 
prayer.  It  may  be  that  they  sang  the  song  of 
Asaph,  as  it  is  in  the  seventy-ninth  Psalm  :  "  Let 
the  sighing  of  the  prisoner  come  before  thee ;  ac- 
cording to  the  greatness  of  thy  power  preserve 
thou  those  who  are  appointed  to  die."  The  pris- 
oners were  hearing  them,  and  the  Lord  heard  them  ; 
and  the  prison  walls  were  shaken  and  the  doors 
opened  ;  every  man's  bands  were  loosed  ;  and  the 
keeper  awoke  and  drew  his  sword,  and  would  have 
killed  himself  had  not  the  apostle  preserved  his 
life  ;  when  the  man,  calling  for  lights,  plunged  into 
the  darkness  which  had  been  bright  enough  for 
better  men,  and,  falling  at  the  feet  of  his  captives, 
said,  "  Lords,  what  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?  "  "  Be- 
lieve on  the  Lord,"  answered  St.  Paul,  "  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved."  And  he  believed  and  committed 
himself  to  God's  mercy ;  he  listened  to  the  word 
of  the  apostle  ;  he  was  baptized ;  he  washed  the 
stripes  of  his  prisoners  ;  "  he  set  meat  before  them, 
and  rejoiced,  believing  in  God  with  all  his  house." 


WHAT  MUST  I  BO  f  185 

It  was  a  famous  place.  On  the  broad  plains  of 
Philippi  had  been  fought  the  battle  upon  "whose 
issue  hung  the  empire  of  the  world.  There  Bru- 
tus and  Cassius  had  sought  to  restore  the  common- 
wealth, building  it  on  the  bleeding  corse  of  Ca3sar. 
There  the  dream  of  a  republic  had  ended,  and 
Roman  liberty  had  itself  been  slain.  It  is  not 
strange  that  in  that  defeat,  that  destruction  of  all 
his  hopes,  the  last  of  the  Romans  killed  himself  by 
the  hand  of  his  freedman,  and  that  Brutus  fell  on 
Strato's  sword.  The  evil  genius  of  Brutus,  which 
had  promised  aforetime  to  meet  him  at  Philippi, 
had  met  him  there,  and  there  had  come  the  final 
destruction  of  his  hope.  The  only  remedy  for 
despair  was  suicide.  It  is  not  strange  that  this 
jailer,  familiar  with  this  remedy  of  greater  men  in 
their  desperation,  sought  through  the  gate  which 
it  opened  deliverance  from  the  terrors  which  envi- 
roned him.  But  a  better  genius  than  that  of  Bru- 
tus was  there.  The  apostle  of  Christ  was  there  ; 
the  Spirit  of  God  was  there,  in  the  heart  of  the 
apostle,  in  the  heart  of  the  jailer ;  and  it  meant 
not  death,  but  life  ;  not  defeat,  but  victory.  His 
character  and  his  hope  were  erected  into  the 
stately  fabric  of  everlasting  life. 

We  are  impressed  here  with  the  temperate  man- 
ner of  the  greatest  of  men ;  with  the  calmness  of 
his  demeanor  ;  with  the  masterful  spirit  which  is 
in  him.  Tliis  is  the  same  man  wlio,  a  little  later, 
kept  a  frightened  ship's  crew  in  subjection,  and 


186  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

controlled  tlie  soldiers  who  were  carrying  him  to 
his  death.  This  man,  with  the  prison  doors 
opened  and  the  prisoners  startled  and  ready  to  flee, 
in  all  the  tumult  of  that  midnight  hour  held  them, 
we  may  believe,  by  the  dignity  of  his  presence,  by 
the  authority  of  his  voice,  by  the  supremacy  of 
his  will,  asserting  that  manhood,  which,  though 
cast  down,  is  not  destroyed,  and  when  thrown 
into  perplexity  never  sinks  into  despair  ;  wearing 
that  royalty  which  nothing  can  take  away  ;  the 
royalty  wherewith  he  had  been  crowned  by  Him 
who  makes  men  kings  and  priests. 

Not  all  the  water  in  the  rough  rude  sea, 
Can  wash  the  balm  from  an  annointed  kins. 

This  question  of  the  jailer  was  admirably  put. 
We  can  hardly  imagine  the  various  constituents 
which  must  enter  into  such  an  inquiry  better 
arranged  than  in  these  words  which  were  driven 
from  him  in  the  excitement  of  that  hour.  He  had 
brought  the  question  to  the  right  place.  He 
might  have  searched  the  "world  over  and  never 
found  a  man  to  whom  the  question  could  be  so 
fittingly  addressed  as  it  came  from  the  heart 
which  asked  it  to  the  heart  which  could  answer  it. 
How  common  experiences  bring  us  to  a  level! 
What  matter  what  one's  age,  or  estate,  or  condi- 
tion in  life,  in  a  sinking  ship,  in  a  burning  house,  a 
shattered  prison ;  in  the  presence  of  God,  Jehovah 
of  hosts !  It  was  but  seventeen  years  before, 
when  the  man  who  heard   this  question,  himself 


WHAT  MUST  I  DO?  187 

affrighted,  thrown  to  the  ground,  confronted  with 
the  Lord  who  stood  before  this  jailer,  uttered  the 
same  inquiry.  Wliat  Saul  of  Tarsus  had  asked  at 
the  gate  of  Damascus,  this  jailer  asked  within  the 
prison  of  Philippi.  What  the  Lord  had  answered 
to  Saul  of  Tarsus,  the  Lord  answered  to  the  jailer; 
and  he  who  had  spoken  to  the  apostle,  gave  him 
the  grace  to  repeat  the  answer  which  needed  no 
enlargement,  which  falls  with  all  its  power  from 
human  lips,  because  it  is  the  word  of  the  Christ, 
and  not  the  man.  This  man  was  able  to  repeat 
that  which  had  come  to  him,  and  to  point  his 
brother,  his  fellow-sinner,  to  the  redemption  which 
had  availed  for  him,  and  which,  through  the  years 
since,  he  had  been  ministering  unto  others,  as  he 
was  to  do  through  the  years  to  come,  until  he  laid 
his  head  upon  the  block.  It  is  one  of  the  instruc- 
tive coincidences  of  Holy  Scripture,  that  a  ques- 
tion which  Saul  of  Tarsus  had  asked  so  long 
before,  and  whose  answer  ]ic  had  received  and 
acted  upon  ever  afterAvards,  should  be  asked  of 
him  by  this  Pagan,  and  should  be  answered  by  him 
as  it  was  answered  to  him,  "  an  Hebrew  of  the 
Hebrews."  There  is  but  one  answer.  He  who  would 
be  saved  must  believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
The  eternities  shall  roll  away,  but  that  direction 
will  remain ;  and  no  man  shall  be  saved,  but  by 
the  grace  of  God  which  is  in  Jesus  Christ  his  Son. 
Who  to-day  intrusts  himself  to  it,  to-day  is  saved. 
But  the  question  itself,  if  we  separate  it  word 


188  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS. 

from  word,  brings  together  those  elements  which 
should  enter  into  the  inquiry:  "What  must  I 
do ;  "  not  these  prisoners,  not  the  rulers,  not  the 
emperor  ;  "  what  must  I  do  ?  "  One  has  not  come 
seriously  to  look  at  any  duty  until  he  stands  alone 
with  God.  I  have  not  seen  my  duty  until  I  have 
seen  it  as  my  duty,  and  do  not  know  other  men 
in  it.  "  What  must  I  do  ?  "  Not  what  should  I 
prefer  to  do  ;  but  what  is  it  necessary  that  I  should 
do  ?  Among  the  divine  and  everlasting  truths  of 
God  which  move  on  forever,  what  is  the  way  to 
which  I  must  conform  my  life,  if  I  would  be 
saved  ?  "  What  must  I  do  ?  "  Not,  in  what  way 
may  I  drift  into  life  ?  Not,  how  long  may  I  live 
before,  like  a  broken  ship  thrown  upon  the  waves, 
I  am  dashed  upon  some  island  in  the  sea  ?  Not, 
when  shall  the  mercy  of  God,  without  any  cov- 
enant, through  the  slow  wearing  on  of  the  ages, 
move  me  into  salvation?  What  must  I  do  in 
order  that  I  maybe  saved  ?  "What  must  I  do  to  he 
sa2;e<i I"' Not,  to  save  myself,  but  to  be  saved;  to 
come  into  that  condition  in  which  I  shall  be  saved 
by  another,  —  I,  who  cannot  save  myself. 

With  what  force  this  man  asks  this  question. 
It  seems  a  strange  inquiry  to  come  from  such  a 
man,  at  such  a  time,  with  such  surroundings.  It 
is  very  plain  that  he  did  not  mean, "  What  shall 
I  do  to  be  saved  from  this  terror,  this  present 
peril  ? "  He  knew  the  rigor  of  Roman  law. 
But  surely  he   could  not  feel   himself  to   blame 


WHA T  MUST  I  DO?  189 

because  there  had  been  an  earthquake  shiikiiig  the 
prison.  He  could  not  accuse  himself  of  deserting 
his  trust,  for  his  prisoners  were  all  there.  If  there 
were  anything  to  result  from  that  excitement  it 
would  seem  to  be  his  advancement.  A  jailer  who, 
under  those  circumstances,  could  keep  his  prison- 
ers safe,  and  the  next  morning  show  them  to  the 
authorities,  miglit  expect  promotion  under  the 
government,  if  promotion  follows  merit.  But  he 
had  seen  God  and  was  troubled  ;  what  should  he 
do? 

This  word  salvation  had  become  familiar  in 
Philippi.  A  damsel,  filled  with  a  spirit  of  divina- 
tion, day  by  day  had  followed  Paul  and  Silas  as 
they  went  to  prayer,  and  cried  out  after  them 
with  the  spirit  of  a  prophetess,  "  These  men  are 
the  servants  of  the  most  high  God,  which  show 
unto  us  the  way  of  salvation,  and  this  did  she 
many  days."  Day  after  day,  "  salvation,"  "  salva- 
tion ;  "  "  which  show  unto  us  the  way  of  salvation," 
went  ringing  along  the  streets  of  Philippi  until 
St.  Paul  commanded  the  spirit  to  come  out  of  her. 
Then  her  masters  caused  her  deliverers  to  be 
beaten  and  imprisoned.  It  may  be  that  this  man 
had  heard  the  frenzied  girl.  He  knew  what  she 
had  said.  He  saw  the  men  whom  she  fol- 
lowed, and  her  masters  accused,  rescued  by  their 
God,  wlien  he  had  made  their  feet  fast  in  tlie 
stocks.  Salvation  as  a  word  liad  become  familiar 
to  him.     In  the  presence  of  God  it  became  a  neces- 


190  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

sity  as  a  fact.     We  are  not  to  think  of  this  man 
as  rough  and  rude  beyond  liis  fellows.     Doubtless 
he  was  of  good  repute.      He  would  not  have  been 
intrusted  with  so  responsible  a  position  as  this,  in 
a  place  of  so  great  account,  had  he  not  been  a  man 
of  intelligence  and  honesty  and  ability.     He  had 
not  beaten  Paul  and  Silas ;  he  had  thrust  them 
into  the  inner  prison  because  he  was  so  commanded. 
There  is  no  sign  of  any  harshness  on  his  part  to- 
wards them,  save  as  he  obeyed  the  orders  of  his 
superiors.     What  is  a  man  to  do  when  the  court 
delivers  a  prisoner  to  his  keeping,  but  to  obey  the 
behest  of  the  court.    May  we  not  think,  too,  that 
this  man,  intelligent  as  he  was,  who  seems,  as  he 
appears  at  last  as  the  head  of  a  family,  to  have 
had  those  gentler  qualities  which  commend  our 
common  human  nature,  perhaps  had  the  thought 
of  God  in  his  mind  before  ?     There  has  been  found 
now  and  then —  sad  that  it  has  been  so  seldom  — 
a   man    among   the   heathen   in  whom    God   has 
kept    his    witness;     who    has    the    thought    of 
God,    who    has    the    desire    for    a    better    life, 
who    would  fain    be    at    peace   with   him    who 
rules   in   the    armies  of  heaven   and  among  the 
inhabitants   of  the    earth.     There   is   no   intima- 
tion   that    this   was    such    a    man.      But    it    is 
clear  that  he  knew  that  the  great  God  was  there 
in  the  prison.     He  had   come   to  rescue   his  men. 
What  should  the  jailer  do  in  the  presence  of  one 
at  whose  tread  the   stones  rattled  in  the  wall? 


WfIA T  MUST  I  DO?  191 

Plainly  there  was  but  one  thing  for  him  to  do,  and 
that  was  Avhat  the  apostles  pointed  out  to  him. 
"  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  "  from  this  God  who 
is  here  ;  this  God  of  power,  in  whose  hands  I  am  ? 
You  arc  reminded  of  that  incident  in  St.  Peter's 
life  when,  brouglit  face  to  face  with  the  power  of 
God,  and  startled  by  the  miracle  of  Cln-ist,  feeling 
his  own  unworthiness,  afraid  to  stand  in  such  a 
presence,  he  cried,  "  Depart  from  me  ;  for  I  am  a 
sinftd  man,  O  Lord."  "  For  he  was  astonished, 
and  all  that  were  with  him."  This  man  was 
amazed,  and  affrighted;  he  saw  God  and  his  might. 
God  was  there,  sliaking  the  very  foundations  of 
his  prison,  and  taking  his  prisoners  out  of  his 
hand.  He  was  afraid  ;  afraid  in  the  presence  of  the 
Almighty,  whose  breath  might  remove  him  from 
the  earth. 

Now,  what  answer  must  the  apostle  give  to 
a  question  like  this  ?  "  What  shall  I  do  that  I 
may  be  saved  and  brought  into  the  favor  of  God 
who  is  here  ?  "  There  is  but  one  answer.  If  this 
man  is  to  be  saved,  he  must  in  some  way  become 
rig] it  with  God.  He  must  submit  his  life  to  God, 
and  enter  the  company  of  those  who  obey 
him  and  on  whom  liis  approval  rests  and  abides 
forever.  The  apostle  summoned  him  to  God. 
Let  us  mark  the  simplicity  of  that  which  the 
apostle  said.  He  called  tlio  man  to  the  obedience 
of  God.  We  often  discuss  this  question  of  salva- 
tion on  side  issues,  and  oftentimes  very  blindly. 


192  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS. 

We  reason  as  if  God  is  there,  with  his  justice 
and  law,  and  Christ  is  here  with  his  redemption ; 
so  that  if  one  has  gone  away  from  God  and  dis- 
obeyed him,  he  must  find  the  mercy  of  Christ  and 
trust  himself  to  that.  But  where  are  righteous- 
ness and  piety  on  this  plan  ?  The  apostle  called 
this  man  back  to  God  himself.  He  must  submit 
to  God  and  take  up  his  duty  from  the  hands 
of  God.  There  is  no  salvation  without  that.  But 
if  he  comes  to  God,  in  what  attitude  shall  he  find 
him  ?  Must  he  come  to  the  law-giver  ?  But  he 
had  broken  the  commands.  Must  he  come  to  a 
God  who  is  simply  almighty?  But  that  power 
was  likely  to  destroy  him.  If  he  found  favor  with 
God  at  all,  it  must  be  because  God  was  merciful 
towards  him.  God  in  mercy  is  the  God  whom  he 
must  find.  First  he  must  find  God;  secondly, 
he  must  find  God  in  mercy,  willing  to  forgive  and 
to  restore;  willing  to  take  liim  into  his  service 
again  ;  and  thirdly,  having  found  God  in  mercy, 
he  must  take  up  the  commands  of  God  and  go 
steadfastly  and  patiently  on,  doing  the  will  of 
God. 

May  I  repeat  these  three  things  ?  This  man,  if 
he  is  to  be  saved,  must  come  to  God,  and  give 
himself  to  him.  Secondly,  lie  must  come  to  God 
as  he  is  in  mercy  ;  and  thirdly,  he  must  come 
to  God  in  mercy  to  render  to  him  the  obedience 
and  devotion  of  his  life.  Why,  then,  did  the 
apostle  say,  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  ?  " 


WUAT  3IUST  I  DO?  193 

Because  tlie  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  the  mercy  of 
God.  Tlie  name  of  God's  mercy  on  the  earth  is 
Christ.  That  fine  line  of  Faber  may  come  to 
your  mind : 

Jesus,  God's  love,  is  crucified. 

This  is  mercy.  God's  love  beyond  the  heavens 
can  do  nothing  for  us  unless  it  reaches  where  Ave 
are  ;  and  when  God's  love  reaches  where  we  are  it 
is  mercy;  and  God's  mercy  where  we  are  is  named 
Jesus  Christ,  his  Son.  You  find  the  mercy  when 
you  find  him ;  you  find  him  when  you  find  the 
mercy. 

Let  us  then  feel  that  this  answers  the  question ; 
that  we  come  into  the  mercy  of  God  as  it  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord ;  and  then,  having  come 
into  the  mercy,  we  take  our  duty  from  Christ's 
lips  and  go  on  to  follow  him  to  the  end. 

Dropping  all  that  is  local  and  temporal,  passing 
away  from  Philippi  and  its  prison  which  has 
become  the  school  for  so  many  penitent  hearts,  we 
will  notice  these  things,  which  have  no  limitation 
of  time  or  of  place,  but  which  come  in  all  their 
reality  to  us  to-day.  What  must  a  man  do  to 
be  saved  ?  Suffer  me  to  answer  it  once  more  as  I 
have  already.  A  man  to  be  saved,  must  come  into 
the  approval  of  God.  When  God  says  you  are 
right,  then  you  are  saved  ;  as  long  as  God  says 
you  are  wrong,  you  are  lost.     When  God's  mercy 


194  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS. 

covers  you,  you  are  saved  ;  when  you  are  without 
that  mere}',  you  are  lost.  When  you  are  doing 
God's  will,  you  are  saved  ;  when  it  is  not  the  law 
of  your  life  to  do  God's  will,  you  are  lost.  There 
is  no  salvation  for  a  man  except  in  doing  the  will 
of  God ;  and  "  he  that  doeth  the  will  of  God 
abide th  forever."     This  is  the  essential  thing:. 

When  the  thought  is  borne  in  upon  us,  as  it 
often  is,  that  there  must  be  something  done  for  our 
salvation,  there  are  three  courses^ which  we  may 
take.  The  first^^course,  and  perhaps  the  rarer,  is 
despair.  "  There  is  no  hope,  no  ;  for  I  have  loved 
strangers,  and  after  them  will  I  go."  One  may 
say,  "  I  have  done  wrong  and  there  is  no  forgive- 
ness for  me  ;  I  am  surrounded  by  the  world,  I  am 
entangled  in  its  toils  ;  there  is  no  help  for  me."  I 
think  that  is  not  very  common.  A  second  course, 
much  more  common,  perhaps  more  perilous,  is  to 
attempt,  by  some  sort  of  compromise,  to  effect  that 
which  can  only  be  effected  by  obedience.  This 
method  is  old.  Mr.  Fronde  says,  that  when  relig- 
ion had  subsided  to  an  opinion  at  Rome,  the  peo- 
ple built  more  elegant  temples  than  ever,  and 
devoted  themselves  more  scrupulously  to  tlie 
ceremonial.  It  has  been  quite  a  common  experi- 
ence, that,  when  faith  has  declined,  a  regard  for 
the  forms  of  religion,  and  for  the  external  duties 
which  it  enjoins,  has  increased;  men  who  have 
broken  with  God  and  Avill  not  return  to  him,  take 
up,  as  a  compromise,  the  doing  of  certain  things 


WHAT  MUST  I  DO?  195 

which  all  acknowledge  to  be  excellent,  in  the  hope 
that  this  may  be  accepted  in  the  place  of  obedi- 
ence. That  is,  when  I  owe  you  money  and  will 
not  pay  you,  if  I  am  kind  to  your  children,  you 
will  forgive  me  the  debt.  When  I  have  a  note  at 
your  bank,  and,  with  money  in  my  hands,  refuse  to 
pay  it,  if  in  other  respects  I  am  well-behaved,  you 
will  send  me  my  note  cancelled  when  it  becomes 
due.  If  I  am  amiable  and  pleasant  among  men, 
that  will  balance  my  lack  of  integrity.  Is  this  a 
caricature  ?  I  see  something  like  it  every  day. 
Men  say  when  this  thought  of  unrighteousness  is 
pressed  home  upon  them,  "  I  will  try  to  do  better ; 
I  will  read  my  Bible  more."  But  reading  the 
Bible  is  not  fully  obeying  God.  "I  will  attend 
church  more  faithfully."  But  attending  church  is 
not  obeying  God.  "  I  will  be  more  careful  about 
my  prayers."  But  being  carefal  about  your  prayers 
is  not  obeying  God.  "  I  will  try  to  be  more  gentle 
and  kind  and  friendly  with  men."  Admirable  ! 
But  being  all  this  is  not  obeying  God,  This  is  on 
a  lower  plane,  and  is  no  substitute  for  the  obedi- 
ence of  God.  It  is  only  by  doing  God's  Avill  that 
a  man  ever  can  have  life  ;  and  one  is  grieved  to 
the  heart  when  he  finds  that  men  are  trj'ing  to 
substitute  good  wishes  and  prayers  and  reading 
the  Bible  and  attending  church  and  speaking  well 
of  religion,  for  the  simple-hearted  obedience  of 
God.  I  would  not  speak  lightly  —  Oh,  that  I 
might  speak  with  more  than  human  eloquence  of 


196  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

the  value  of  virtue  and  morality  in  the  earth !  I 
would  exalt  reading  the  Bible  and  prayer  and  the 
reverence  of  God  in  the  sanctuary,  and  honor  and 
sincerity  and  truthfulness  among  men.  All  these 
God  requires.  But  when  all  this  is  done,  it  may 
be  that  we  have  not  found  God.  It  was  the 
shrewd  and  sharp  saying  of  some  one  upon  the 
"Charge  of  the  Six  Hundred,"  when  they  rushed 
"  into  the  jaws  of  death,  into  the  mouth  of  hell," 
throwing  away  their  lives  to  accomplish  nothing, 
"  This  is  magnificent,  but  it  is  not  war."  Some- 
thing like  that  may  be  said  of  all  the  forms  of  vir- 
tue and  decorum  :  "  These  are  magnificent,  but  they 
are  not  religion."  There  is  no  religion  without 
God,  and  a  man  is  not  religious  until  he  thinks  of 
God.  Morality  is  not  religious  until  a  man  is 
moral  because  God  requires  it,  and  he  renders  his 
morality  to  him.  The  circle  must  have  a  centre, 
or  it  is  not  a  circle  ;  and  the  centre  of  religion  is 
God.  The  needle  of  the  compass  must  find  the 
north ;  and  the  north  of  morality  is  God.  When 
morality  points  to  him,  then  it  is  religion.  Why 
should  we  not  do  right  to  please  God,  and  for  his 
sake  possess  the  virtues  ?  Why  should  we  think 
that  adorning  the  prison  and  softening  the  fetters 
and  loosening  the  stocks  for  men  is  a  worthy  sub- 
stitute for  the  belief  on  tlie  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
which  alone  can  save  man  ? 

We  can  come  to  this  thought  of  the  necessity 
of  our  submitting  ourselves  to  God  in  obedience, 


WHAT  MUST  I  DO?  197 

if  we  think  upon  the  rehition  which  we  are  to  bear 
to  him  forever.  We  might,  perhaps,  otherwise 
come  into  a  state  in  which  we  should  be  reason- 
abl}^  content,  if  it  were  not  for  the  fact  that  God 
is  love.  Friends,  I  do  not  know  how  it  impresses 
you,  but  the  most  serious  truth  which  I  have  to 
confront  in  questions  of  duty  is  that  God  is  love. 
I  should  have  an  easier  conscience  if  it  were  not 
for  that.  I  should  care  less  for  his  treatment  of 
me,  if  he  did  not  love  me.  It  is  little  to  you  that 
the  stranger  on  the  street  does  not  notice  you;  but 
if  your  friend  passes  you  by  !  It  is  little  to  this 
man  that  the  boys  do  not  speak  to  him;  but  if  his 
own  children  will  not  speak  to  him  !  It  is  a  small 
matter  to  the  boys  that  the  men  whom  they  meet 
do  not  smile  upon  them ;  but  if  their  father  or 
mother  will  not  look  kindly  on  them !  I  can 
think  of  nothincT  which  shall  be  harder  for  the  lost 
than  to  see  the  averted  face  of  the  love  of  God. 
To  look  at  him  from  the  golden  streets,  while  I 
walk  beneath  the  trees  which  yield  their  fruit 
every  month ;  to  look  up  to  God  and  find  him  turn- 
ing away ;  and  to  think  tliat  he  cannot  look 
approvingly  upon  me,  but  tliat  I  am  spending  my 
years  under  his  disapproval,  knowing  that  he  is 
dissatisfied  with  me,  displeased  with  my  motives, 
discontented  with  my  life,  might  well  make  me 
desire  to  depart  from  heaven  and  be  at  peace. 
The  man  was  not  driven  away  by  the  soldiers, 
nor  by  the  girl  who  frightened  him.     He  stood  his 


198  CAMBBIBGE  SEBMONS. 

ground ;  he  kept  by  the  fire  and  warmed  himself, 
that  Galilean  fisherman.  But  at  last,  when  no 
one  was  speaking,  no  hand  was  uplifted,  no  threat 
had  reached  him,  suddenly  this  stout  man  went 
out,  and  in  the  darkness  wept  bitterly,  for  "  the 
Lord  turned  and  looked  upon  Peter."  The  hard- 
est look  to  bear  is  the  sorrowful  look  of  a  friend. 
His  anger  you  could  endure,  but  his  sorrow 
crushes  the  heart.  "  Peter  went  out  "  —  of  course 
he  went  out.  The  world  was  not  wide  enouQ^h  to 
give  him  a  place  where  he  could  stand  and  bear 
the  sight  of  those  sorrowful  eyes.  The  years  were 
not  brief  enough  for  him  to  pass  through  them  and 
lose  sight  of  that  tearful,  pleading  gaze,  when 
"the  Lord  turned  and  looked  upon  Peter."  How 
could  a  man  live  forever  under  the  sad  eyes,  and 
before  the  broken  heart  of  the  only  friend  he  ever 
had  ?  Call  it  heaven,  if  you  will,  but  do  not  call 
•it  blessedness.  There  is  no  salvation  until  Christ 
smiles  upon  us ;  until  God  approves  us.  When 
God  is  pleased,  we  are  saved ;  when  God  is  con- 
tented, we  are  right ;  when  the  face  of  the  Son  of 
God  looks  approvingly  upon  us,  here  in  these 
streets,  or  yonder  in  the  celestial  courts,  we  are  in 
heaven. 

Brethren,  I  am  not  speaking  to-day  of  the 
delights  of  Paradise.  I  am  asking  simply  this  : 
that  3^0 u  and  I  may  be  right.  Let  us  once  for  all 
be  done  with  the  delusion  that  God  is  so  good  we 
may  wrong  him,  and  that  because  God  is  love  it 


WHA  T  MUST  I  DO  ?  199 

does  not  matter  what  he  thinks  of  us.  We  do  care 
what  he  tliinks  of  us ;  and  we  care  all  the  more, 
and  we  shall  always  care  tlie  more,  because  God  is 
love.  Tliere  is  nothing  tliat  persuades  me  more 
into  the  necessity  that  I  must  be  right  if  I  would 
find  heaven,  than  that  God's  love  summons  me  to 
this  obedience. 

This  is  the  word  which  God's  Spirit  brings  to  us 
this  morning.  We  must  regard  this  question 
which  is  before  us.  Let  us  be  rio-ht  in  the 
righteousness  of  it.  Our  duty  is  plain.  Shall  we 
do  it?  We  shall  be  saved  when  God  knows  that 
the  secret  spring  of  our  life  is  true  to  him.  That 
was  a  fine  sentence  in  one  of  the  papers  last  week. 
Some  one,  writing  of  Mr.  Gladstone,  who  had 
been  obliged  to  give  up  a  visit  to  his  constituents 
on  account  of  his  health,  said,  "When  Mr.  Glad- 
stone says  that  he  regards  it  as  an  obligation 
to  have  an  interview  with  the  electors  of  Mid- 
lothian, that  is  the  same  thing  as  saying  it  will  be 
performed."  That,  I  suppose,  may  be  taken 
as  the  leading  characteristic  of  the  grandest  Eng- 
lishman of  our  day.  It  makes  any  life  grand,  and 
anv  life  is  feeble  without  it.  To  see  that  a  tinner 
ought  to  be  done,  and  to  have  this  equivalent 
to  seeing  that  it  is  done,  makes  up  a  heroic  life. 
We  see  our  duty ;  we  confess  it.  Is  that  the 
pledge  that  we  will  do  it  ? 

I  plead  to-day  simply  for  the  right.  A  man 
ought    to    love    God.      Shall  we  submit  our   life 


200  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMOJSfS. 

to  God?  We  must  come  to  God's  mercy,  because 
we  are  guilty.  The  mercy  of  God  is  Jesus  Christ, 
his  Son.  There  before  this  incarnate,  redeemingr 
mercy,  we  will  say,  "  Here,  Lord,  I  give  myself 
away.  I  take  thy  will  and  it  shall  govern  me  ;  I 
take  thy  word,  and  it  shall  teach  me."  "But  shall 
I  not  fail  ?  How  can  I  know  the  will  of  God  ?  " 
one  asks.  He  shall  guide  you  into  all  truth. 
"How  can  I  do  the  will  of  God? "  He  shall  keep 
you  from  falling,  and  present  you  faultless  before 
the  presence  of  his  glory  with  exceeding  joy. 
"Can  I  come  up  out  of  this  inconstant  and  guilty 
life  into  the  grace  of  God,  forever  to  abide  within 
his  compassion  ?  "  "  The  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say, 
come  ;  "  and  the  mercy  of  God  saith  "  Come,  all 
ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden ;  Come  unto  me, 
for  I  am  God's  mercy,  and  I  Avill  give  you  rest." 

Three  things,  then,  beloved  :  First,  to  devote  our 
life  from  this  hour  steadfastly  unto  obedience 
to  God ;  secondly,  to  intrust  ourselves  steadfastly 
unto  God  in  mercy,  which  is  Christ;  thirdly,  from 
this  hour  to  go  our  way  doing  those  things  which 
will  please  Christ. 

I  leave  this  word  with  you  with  these  sentences 
of  Holy  Scripture,  which  teach  us  that,  if  a  man 
return  to  God  he  shall  be  saved  ;  that,  if  a  man  out 
of  his  broken  life  will  come  back  and  begin  life 
again  at  the  mercy  of  God,  he  shall  be  saved  ;  and 
that  the  power  that  shall  save  him  is  the  mercy  of 
God  in  Jesus  Christ  his  Son. 


WHAT  MUST  I  no  ?  201 

"  Tliis  is  a  faithful  saying,  and  worthy  of  all 
acceptation,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world 
to  save  sinners." 

"  Tliere  is  none  other  name  under  heaven  given 
among  men,  whereby  we  must  be  saved." 

"  He  is  able  to  save  them  to  the  uttermost  that 
come  unto  God  by  him." 

"  The  blood  of  Jesus  Christ  his  Son  cleanseth 
us  from  all  sin." 

"  The  precious  blood  of  Christ." 


XI. 

THE   LOVE    OF   GOD   MANIFESTED. 


ScRiPTUEE  Lesson  :  /  John.  Chapter  iv. 

Text:  In  this  was  manifested  the  love  of  God  toward  us, 
because  that  God  sent  his  only  begotten  Son  into  the  world, 
that  we  might  live  through  him.  Herein  is  love ;  not  that  Ave 
loved  God,  but  that  he  loved  us,  and  sent  his  Son  to  be  the 
propitiation  for  our  sins.    /  John  iv :  9  and  10. 

WE  may  acid  to  this  the  fourteenth  verse  : 
"  We  have  seen  and  do  testify  that  the 
Father  sent  the  Son  to  be  the  Saviour  of  the 
workl."  There  is,  then,  a  grand  truth  which  lies 
before  all  wliich  God,  our  Father,  has  done  for  us, 
in  the  love  which  he  has  for  us.  God  is  love, 
and  God  loves  us.  There  can  be  no  question 
more  important  than  this  :  What  is  the  feeling  of 
God  towards  men,  as  they  are  really  living  and 
working  in  the  world  ?  The  answer  of  our 
Lord  is,  that  when  men  needed  to  be  saved,  God 
loved  the  world. 

We  have  this  precedent  fact  of  the  love  of  God ; 
we  have  the  love  of  God  giving  his  Son  for  men ; 
we  have  the  love  of  God  following  the  gift  of  his 

202 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD  2IAXIFESTED.  203 

Son  with  those  calls  which  bid  us  to  eternal  life. 
When  we  read  the  story  of  Christ's  life  as  it  is 
written  in  the  Old  Scriptures,  we  find  this  move- 
ment of  God's  love  through  all  his  work  and 
in  his  words.  God  is  seen  reasoning  with  men, 
bidding  them  to  reason  with  him,  though  their 
sins  be  as  scarlet ;  calling  them  to  himself,  though 
they  are  going  away  to  death  —  "Turn  3'e,  turn 
ye,  for  why  will  ye  die  ?  "  God  is  found  talking 
with  himself  and  calling  himself  to  account,  lest 
in  anything  his  love  has  come  short ;  going  as  the 
vine-dresser  among  his  vines,  looking  up  through 
the  leaves  and  parting  them  here  and  there,  that 
he  may  see  if  anywhere  there  is  a  ripened  cluster ; 
at  last  dropping  his  hands  in  despair  and  crying 
out  in  that  sad  and  anxious  sentence,  "  What 
could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vineyard,  that  I 
have  not  done  in  it  ?  "  We  are  to  lay  this  down 
as  the  grand  truth ;  the  grand  fact  never  to  be 
questioned  —  against  which  our  reasoning  and  our 
feeling  are  never  to  prevail ;  whicli  nothing  in 
law  or  judgment  is  to  destroy  —  the  love  that 
God  has  for  men ;  for  men  in  their  guilt, 
for  men  in  their  death.  We  are  able  to  re- 
peat, and,  with  our  voice  rising  as  we  say  the 
words,  we  do  repeat  those  spirited  lines  of  the 
English  preacher  and  singer,  when  he  seems 
to  throw  all  his  force  into  his  song,  lest  some  one 
should  question  it,  or  as  if  somewhere  he  had 
heard  some  whisper  of  doubt  concerning  it : 


204  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS.  \ 

I  say  to  thee,  do  thou  repeat 

To  the  first  man  thou  mayest  meet, 
In  lane,  highway,  or  open  street  — 

That  he,  and  we,  and  all  men  move 
Under  a  canopy  of  Love 

As  broad  as  the  blue  sky  above. 
******* 
And  one  thing  further  make  him  know, 

That  to  believe  these  things  are  so, 
This  firm  faith  never  to  forego  — 

Despite  of  all  which  seems  at  strife 
With  blessing,  and  with  curses  rife  — 

That  this  is  blessing,  this  is  life. 

From  this  fact  of  God's  love,  pass  nov/  to  the 
manifesting  of  God's  love  ;  for  it  is  obvious  that 
if  it  be  love  it  must  show  itself.  A  mere  emotion 
beyond  the  heavens,  in  the  breast  of  God,  avails 
us  nothingr-.  It  is  not  love  unless  it  lives.  There 
is  no  such  thing  as  dead  love,  and  "  They  never 
loved  who  dream  that  they  loved  once."  God's 
love  must  move  because  it  is  living  ;  it  must  seek 
those  towards  whom  it  looks,  that  it  may  bless 
them  out  of  its  own  wealth  and  streno^th. 

An  Italian  writer  not  long  ago,  speaking  of  one 
of  the  most  famous  of  modern  Spanish  painters, 
whose  works  he  had  been  examining,  said,  "  It 
is  the  last  point  whicii  painting  can  reach 
before  being  translated  into  action."  The 
painter  could  only  drop  his  brush  and  do  the 
things  which  he  had  depicted ;  that  was  all  which 
was  beyond ;  but  that  was  a  wonderful  thing  be- 
yond.     It  is  a  great  step  from   the   thought   to 


TUB  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  205 

the  deed  ;  from  the  man  upon  the  canvas  to  the 
man  upon  the  street ;  from  the  love  looking  from 
out  the  painted  eyes  to  the  love  dropping  from  out 
the  living  hands.  God's  love  coming  from  the 
divine  eternal  repose  into  a  life  Avherewith  it 
seeks  to  bring  men  to  itself,  this  is  love  doing  the 
one  thing  which  makes  love  perfect. 

God's  love  shows  itself  to  men  before  Christ 
comes.  It  is  in  his  favor  and  his  providence  ; 
it  is  in  his  long-suffering  patience,  and  compas- 
sion ;  it  is  in  his  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises ;  it  is  in  liis  communion  with  men,  bear- 
ing them  up  as  a  shepherd  bears  his  sheep ;  carry- 
ing them  as  an  eagle  carries  her  young ;  keeping 
them  as  one  keeps  the  flock  in  the  green  pastures 
and  by  the  still  waters.  God's  love  moves  through 
all.  It  is  in  great  events ;  when  he  calls  Abraham 
to  be  the  leader  of  humanity ;  when  he  raises 
]\Ioses  from  the  bulrushes  to  be  the  world's  law- 
giver ;  when  he  sends  the  prophets  to  instruct  the 
world  in  morals  and  religion,  until  he  whose  day 
the  prophets  heralded  shall  come.  This  is  the  love 
of  God. 

But  all  this  has  not  availed  to  accomplish  God's 
purposes.  On  the  night  when  Christ  was  born, 
the  world  did  not  know  that  Jehovah  was  God. 
A  few  Jews  in  Jerusalem  and  Juda,  and  scattered 
here  and  there  through  the  lands,  knew ;  but  the 
world  in  its  despair  bowed  before  its  idols, 
and    Pag^anism    ilself    was    breakinor    to    its   fall. 


206  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

There  was  one  thing  more  that  God  could  do. 
He  could  come  into  the  world  himself ;  not  send, 
but  come.  We  are  brought,  then,  to  the  thought 
which  the  apostle  here  presents  to  us  as  we  gather 
up  these  teachings  to-day  with  the  other  teachings 
out  of  the  heart  of  this  same  man,  who  was  '^  that 
disciple  whom  Jesus  loved,"  and  we  see  God's 
love  alive,  in  the  world,  at  its  best  and  doing 
its  best  for  men.  It  seems  a  singular  thinof  as  we 
make  up  the  merit  of  men,  and  the  desert  of 
actions,  that  this  which  is  done  by  the  Son  of 
God  in  the  earth,  with  which  we  are  familiar, 
should  be  ascribed  to  God.  I  think  it  almost  the 
strangest  verse  in  the  Bible,  when  you  take  it  by 
itself,  that  which  St.  Paul  wrote  to  the  Romans : 
"  God  commendeth  his  love  toward  us,  in  that 
Christ  died  for  us."  I  ask  you  to  admire  my 
patriotism  and  devotion,  for  I  know  a  man  who 
went  out  and  died  for  his  country.  You  sa}^,  "  I 
should  think  it  was  that  man's  devotion  which 
was  to  be  admired,  rather  than  yours."  God  com- 
mendeth his  love  because  somebody  else  died  for 
us.  One  would  think  it  should  be  that  Christ 
commendeth  his  love  because  he  died  for  us.  I 
could  readily  understand  that ;  the  other  is  not  so 
clear.  But  you  say  it  is  marvellous  love  when 
God  gives  his  Son  to  the  world  that  he  may  bear 
our  burdens,  and  suffer  and  die  for  us.  That  is 
true.  But  does  not  the  chief  love  belong  to  him 
who  comes  ?  Is  it  love  which,  taking  sorrow  from  us, 


TUE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  207 

lays  it  upon  another  ?  We  may  call  it  loving  us,  but 
what  will  the  Son  say  ?  We  may  call  it  a  manifes- 
tation of  love  on  the  one  hand  helping  ^ls ;  what 
shall  we  say  of  that  on  the  other  hand,  crushing 
Mm  .- 

I  have  no  solution  of  tins  mystery,  except  that 
which  our  Lord  himself  gave,  which  was  this :  *'  I 
and  my  Father  are  one.  The  Son  can  do  nothing 
of  himself."  He  was  so  thoroughly  one  with  the 
Father,  that  he  could  not  think,  or  love,  or  act 
apart  from  him.  They  could  not  be  separated.  The 
love  of  the  Son  was  the  love  of  God.  I  see,  then, 
how  God  may  commend  his  love  when  the  Son  of 
God  dies,  for  the  Father  and  the  Son  are  one. 
God  comes  to  us,  enters  into  our  humanity,  loving 
us  and  putting  his  love  into  exercise  for  us,  under 
this  name  of  the  Son  ;  under  the  name  of  Jesus  the 
Saviour ;  under  that  other  name  Immanuel,  which 
is,  being  interpreted  by  him  who  alone  can  inter- 
pret his  names ;  who  alone  can  translate  his  life 
into  our  thought :  which  is,  being  interpreted, 
"God  with  us." 

"  O  Lamb  of  God,  was  ever  pain,  was  ever  love 
like  thine  !  " 

We  have,  then,  these  facts :  we  have  Christ 
giving  himself  for  us;  God  sending  his  Son,  as 
the  Scripture  teaches ;  Christ  coming  into  the 
world,  as  he  said  of  himself,  and  thus  redeeming 
us  ;  giving  himself,  as  the  text  says  this  morning, 
first  as  "  the  propitiation  for  our  sins ;  "  secondly, 


208  CAMBIilDGE  SER3fONS, 

"that  we  might  live  through  him;"  and  thirdly, 
as  it  is  described  in  that  larger  phrase,  ''  to  be  the 
Saviour  of  the  world." 

We  are  not  to  look  upon  this  act  of  God  in 
giving  his  son  as  a  singular  act,  separate  from  the 
whole  spirit  of  his  life ;  a  new  law  which  has 
entered  into  the  world.  Christ  is  but  fulfilling  an 
eternal  law  in  this,  that  he  gives  himself  for  men. 
There  are  three  expressions  to  which  I  will  call 
your  attention  particularly  now,  that  you  may  see 
how  this  life  of  Christ  in  the  world  is  carr^dng 
out  a  grand,  broad  principle  which  is  working  all 
the  time  among  men.  This  law  has  three  state- 
ments. First,  it  is  in  this,  and  it  is  Christ's  state- 
ment: "Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone  " ;  but  if  it  give 
up  its  life,  if  it  die,  then  other  grains,  and  many 
grains,  spring  from  it,  and  it  is  glorified  in  this 
multiplying  and  ennobling  of  its  life.  The  sec- 
ond statement  is  this  :  "I  am  the  bread  of  life  ;  " 
ye  are  to  eat  this  bread  and  live  forever.  Bread  is 
this  grain  of  wheat  sprung  up  and  multiplied ;  and 
then  this  new  grain  is  itself  bruised,  crushed,  made 
into  bread,  which,  again,  is  of  no  service  until  it  is 
dead.  No  ;  not  until  you  consume  the  bread  does 
it  do  you  any  good.  But  when  the  bread  has 
given  itself  for  you,  then  it  enters  into  your  vir- 
tue and  knowledge ;  into  the  immortality  which 
comes  here  in  its  beginning.  It  becomes  a  part  of 
you.      It  is  not  a  poor  loaf  upon  the  shelf,  but  its 


'  THE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  209 

strength  is  in  yon,  tliat  yon  may  live  by  means  of 
it.  The  third  and  only  other  illnstration  which 
I  will  mention,  is  this :  "  I  am  the  good  shep- 
herd ; "  I  am  "  come  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost,"  as  the  shepherd  goes  after  the  one 
sheep  which  has  wandered  from  the  ninety  and 
nine;  goes  np  into  the  cold  mountain,  finds  him, 
and  brincTS  him  down  into  the  fold  at  his  own  cost. 
Nay,  "  I  am  the  good  shepherd,"  who,  finding  the 
sheep  in  great  peril,  throws  himself  between  the 
sheep  and  the  peril,  and  gives  his  life  for  the 
sheep.  Then  the  sheep  live,  and  he  lives  in 
them.  For  Christ  rising  from  the  dead  becomes 
more  than  ever  the  shepherd  of  the  sheep ;  receiv- 
ing more  from  them  in  their  affection  and  their 
service,  while  he  is  glorified  in  that  which  he  has 
done  for  them.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  more  vivid 
portraiture  of  the  work  of  Christ  than  this,  as  he 
paints  it  out  upon  the  Judan  background ;  the 
sheep  and  the  wolves,  and  the  Christ  between.  It  is 
a  strong  picture  and  full  of  meaning.  But  there  is 
one  tiling  more  than  the  beauty  of  the  words  ;  it  is 
the  beauty  of  the  deed,  when  the  living  Christ 
gives  his  life  for  the  sheep. 

We  have  considered  the  fact  and  the  method; 
shall  we  look  now  at  the  reason  of  the  fact? 
Why  is  it  that  Christ  gives  himself  for  the  sheep  ? 
Why  is  it  that,  being  the  bread  of  life,  he  consents 
to  be  eaten  ?  Why  is  it  that,  being  the  grain  of 
living  wheat,  he  consents  to  die  ? 


210  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

First,  lie  does  not  die  because  he  is  guilty.  We 
associate  suffering  with  guilt.  He  is  not  guilty; 
he  is  holy.  He  does  not  die  because  he  is  weak. 
He  is  three  and  thirt}^  years  old,  and  all  his 
strength  is  in  him  ;  he  has  a  multitude  attending 
him  ;  lie  has  the  world  open  before  him ;  yet  he 
goes  steadfastly  to  the  cross.  He  does  not  die 
because  he  is  compelled.  If  he  does,  there  is  no 
patriot  soldier  who  does  not  exceed  him  in  devo- 
tion. "I  lay  down  my  life  of  myself;  no  man 
taketh  it  from  me."  He  does  not  die,  agaiu,  be- 
cause he  is  under  obligation;  it  is  his  free  and 
gracious  act.  He  does  not  die  reluctantly ;  he 
talked  but  little  of  his  dying,  though  in  that  little 
he  said  wonderful  things.  When  Jesus  came  to 
his  death  he  said  this  :  "  The  hour  is  come,  that 
the  Son  of  man  should  be  glorified."  It  was  the 
glory  of  dying  to  redeem,  which,  in  his  thought, 
surpassed  the  death  itself. 

Or,  again,  to  change  the  list  a  little  ;  he  does 
not  come  into  the  world  and  give  himself  for  men 
because  God  is  angry  with  men,  and  needs  to  be 
persuaded  and  appeased ;  for  even  then  God  loves 
men.  He  does  not  die  for  men  because  he  is  bear- 
ing their  punishment,  being  himself  holy.  No 
one  can  bear  the  punishment  of  another.  Guilt 
cannot  be  transferred,  and  no  man  can  be  pun- 
ished for  anything  but  his  own  offences.  He  does 
not  give  himself  for  men  because  there  is  a  defi- 
ciency  in    that  which   God   has   done   which   he 


TUE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  211 

wishes  to  fill  out ;  because  of  a  sudden  purpose  of 
love  springing  up  in  God's  mind.  The  love  of 
God  was  in  his  law,  making  every  syllable  of  it, 
as  truly  as  it  was  in  his  redemjition,  bringing  men 
back  to  it.  He  does  not  die,  fourthly,  that  he 
may  reconcile  justice  and  mercy.  God's  justice  is 
merciful  and  God's  mercy  is  just.  It  is  reconcil- 
ing a  thing  unto  itself  to  speak  of  reconciling  the 
two  sides  of  the  one  thought  of  God.  Neither, 
finally,  does  he  die  as  if  this  were  his  last  estate, 
simply  to  perish,  one  more  victim,  one  more  man 
giving  himself  that  others  may  live  while  he 
remains  dead.  He  gives  himself  to  rise  from  the 
grave,  and  to  bear  humanity  redeemed  up  into  his 
own  glory,  and  to  live  and  reign  forever  where 
the  saints  of  God  render  their  homage  and  their 
worship  unto  him  who  sitteth  upon  the  throne  and 
unto  the  Lamb. 

I  am  asked,  then,  passing  from  these  negative 
considerations,  why  it  is  that  God's  love  takes 
this  especial  form.  We  notice  these  three  things: 
In  the  first  place,  that  men  need  to  be  saved. 
Secondly,  that  Christ  could  save  men  if  he  would. 
Thirdly,  that  Christ  loves  men  enough  to  save 
them.  Men  need,  Christ  is  able,  Christ  is  willing ; 
there  you  have  the  atonement.  You  need  it ;  it 
is  possible  for  it  to  become  real.  There  is  love 
enough  to  make  it  real.  The  whole  truth  is 
comprehended  in  those  three  statements.  We 
are  standing  upon  holy  ground.    ]\Ien  have  formed 


212  CAMBRIDGE  SEJIMONS. 

upon  these  facts  various  explanations,  and  some 
of  tliem  are  admirable.  It  is  good  to  see  how 
vigorous  and  glowing  are  the  thoughts  of  men 
touching  this  fact  of  the  redeeming  love  of  Christ. 
The3^have  studied  it,  turned  it  to  tl:iie  light,  sought 
the  reason  for  it,  followed  out  the  methods  of  its 
working,  and  made  to  themselves  the  plans  in 
which  all  the  parts  find  a  place.  Their  studies 
make  excellent  reading.  Yet  it  will  be  noticed 
that  in  these  explanations  there  is  one  simple 
truth.  From  different  ways  of  looking  at  life, 
men  come  to  different  conclusions  upon  almost 
every  subject.  There  is  this  noteworthy  thing  in 
regard  to  the  various  studies  upon  the  redemption 
of  Christ,  that,  however  men  may  pursue  the 
theme,  they  come  back  to  one  great  truth.  From 
the  highest  sacrificial  theory  which  makes  Christ 
bear  the  burden  of  our  guilt,  to  the  humbler  idea 
which  makes  him  simply  one  who  appeals  to  our 
conscience  and  affection,  they  agree  in  this  sub- 
stantial and  central  fact :  that  Christ  gave  him- 
self to  save  men,  and  that  because  Christ  gave 
himself,  men  can  be  saved.  With  many  points  of 
difference  they  agree  in  that.  It  is  very  in- 
structive that  the  study  of  the  history  of  Christ's 
life,  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  Scriptures,  shows  him 
as  the  shepherd  between  the  sheep  and  the 
wolves. 

If  we  can  see  Christ  in  that  position,  we  have 
seen  the  very  heart  of  it  all.     If  we  can  under- 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOB  MANIFESTED.  213 

stand  this,  and  receive  it  heartily,  we  have 
received  Christ  as  he  gives  himself  for  men. 

I  delight  to  read  what  men  say  about  this. 
Often  have  I  read  it,  patiently  have  I  studied  it. 
I  shall  continue  to  read  with  an  open  mind.  But 
I  always  come  back  to  the  New  Testament,  and 
always  must  do  so,  for  it  is  there  alone  that  I  find 
the  explanation  of  Christ's  work  which  satisfies  me. 
I  am  deeply  impressed  with  the  conviction  that 
if  there  is  any  privilege  which  should  be  accorded 
to  everybody,  it  is  the  privilege  of  telling  why  he 
does  a  thing.  I  claim  that  right.  ]\Iy  action  may 
be  foolish ;  it  may  seem  to  you  irrational  ;  but  I 
assert  my  right  as  against  the  world,  to  explain  my 
conduct.  What  I  ask  for  myself  I  give  to  others ; 
and  most  of  all  to  the  Christ  of  God.  To  him 
belongs  the  right  to  tell  why  he  came  into  the 
world,  why  he  gave  his  life  for  men,  what  he 
expected  to  accomplish  by  the  offering  of  himself, 
what  he  thinks  men  ought  to  do  to  avail  them- 
selves of  it.  I  come  back  from  my  rambling  to 
say,  "  O  my  SavioHr,  thou  hast  the  right  to  give 
thine  own  account  of  thy  life  and  death,  and  I  am 
silent  until  thou  hast  spoken,  and  when  thou  hast 
spoken." 

Now  what  does  Christ  say  ?  Let  us  put  away, 
for  this  time,  at  least,  the  words  of  men,  and  our 
own  thouglits,  and  listen  to  him.  I  will  only  ask 
you  to  take  these  two  or  three  sentences  of  his 
own  words.     "  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to  seek 


214  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  "  This  is  my 
body  which  is  broken  for  you."  "  This  is  my 
blood  which  is  shed  for  many  for  the  remission 
of  sins."  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only-begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in 
him,  should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life." 
"  I  am  the  good  shepherd  ;  the  good  shepherd 
giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep."  This  is  simply 
letting  him  tell  his  own  story.  It  is  not  much  to 
allow  him  to  make  his  own  representation  of  his 
works,  and  picture  it,  if  he  will.  "  I  am  the  good 
shepherd  ;  the  good  shepherd  giveth  his  life."  He 
does  not  hint  that  this  is  to  set  the  sheep  an 
example  or  to  stir  up  in  them  a  new  love  for  the 
shepherd.  What  they  required  was  to  be  saved 
from  the  wolves.  Nothing  could  be  plainer  than 
this  presentation  of  his  work.  We  see  the  sheep 
and  the  wolves,  and  the  Christ.  "  The  good 
shepherd  giveth  his  life  for  the  sheep." 

Now,  dear  friends,  that  is  the  atonement.  It  is 
a  brief  statement,  but  it  is  wonderfully  clear  and 
satisfying.  I  ought  to  say  to  3^ou  candidly  that 
the  deepest  thouglit  which  I  ever  have  upon  the 
atonement  comes  from  such  simple  sentences  as  I 
have  now  read  to  you.  More  and  more  do  I  find 
content  in  the  plain  words  of  Christ  himself  and 
the  men  whom  he  instructed.  The  matter  is  a  vital 
one  to  me,  for  my  own  sake  and  as  your  minister. 
I  rejoice  to  rest  my  faith,  and  build  my  preaching  on 
the  truth  which  Christ  taught  concerning  himself. 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  215 

The  sheep,  the  wolves,  tlie  Christ  between  —  I  can 
understand  that  as  a  fact.  We  may  goon  a  little 
farther,  still  keeping  in  the  light  of  the  holy  Scrip- 
tures. When  Christ  came  into  the  world  there 
were  two  principles  at  work.  The  one  was  that 
principle  which  makes  the  men  who  do  good 
blessed.  God  himself,  supremely  good,  is 
supremely  blessed,  and  all  goodness  tends  to 
happiness.  Then  you  find  a  principle  of  evil  in 
the  world,  coming  out  in  lameness  and  blindness 
and  death,  and  continually  producing  unhappiness. 
On  the  one  side  goodness  tends  to  all  which  we 
mean  by  life ;  and  on  the  other  side  wickedness 
tends  to  all  which  we  mean  by  death.  These  two 
laws  prevail ;  and  we  find  in  the  Scriptures,  as  we 
find  in  our  daily  papers  and  daily  walks,  that  the 
current  thought  of  the  world  is  away  from  God ; 
that  the  ruling  passion  of  men  is  selfisluiess  and 
not  godliness,  and  we  know  that  the  result  can 
only  be  unhappiness.  With  these  two  forces  at 
work,  Christ  comes  into  the  world.  You  Avill 
mark  that  this  which  I  have  now  described  is  not 
a  statute,  but  a  necessary  relation  of  cause  and 
effect.  It  is  not  God  saying,  "  I  command  this, 
that  ever}'  good  man  shall  be  happy,  and  that  every 
bad  man  shall  be  unhappy,"  giving  a  law  which 
he  may  easily  reverse.  It  is  not  a  commandment. 
It  is  simply  a  fact,  which  is  as  necessary  as  the 
being  of  God  himself,  that  goodness  shall  tend  to 
blessedness  and  to  the  elevating  and  the  glorify- 


216  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

ing  of  the  whole  character  and  heart  of  man. 
This  comes  out  of  the  nature  of  God,  and  is  not 
the  mere  command  of  God.  We  make  a  great 
mistake  sometimes  when  we  think  we  have  to  deal 
simply  with  a  code  of  statutes,  which  the  one 
adaiinistering  the  law  may  at  any  time  modify,  or 
repeal.  The  statutes  are  as  unrepealable  as  the 
nature  of  God.  If  they  should  be  repealed,  you 
could  no  longer  be  certain  that  God  is  good,  or 
that  he  is  blessed.  I  put  this  down  as  an  ever- 
lasting and  inevitable  truth,  that  out  of  goodness 
comes  blessedness,  and  all  which  we  mean  by  life. 
Into  these  facts  God  came  with  his  Spirit  and 
his  own  nature.  With  these  two  principles  work- 
ing among  men,  God  came  down  and  was  incar- 
nate in  our  humanity.  He  saw  men  going  through 
their  wickedness  into  their  despair.  He  threw  him- 
self in  their  path.  He  let  this  pain  and  suffering 
and  wrong  assail  him.  He  was  not  made  guilty, 
or  he  would  have  been  a  sufferer  merely,  and  not 
a  deliverer,  standing  with  all  the  power  of  his 
divinity.  But,  standing  with  the  sympathy  of  his 
pure  humanity,  he  let  this  sorrow,  this  pain,  the 
malice  of  sin,  fall  upon  him  and  overpower  him. 
In  doing  that  he  brought  in  not  a  new  laAv,  but  a 
new  working  of  the  law  of  God.  The  old  princi- 
ple remained,  "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death,"  and 
unto  this  he  bowed;  but  he  asserted  this  new 
principle  :  "•  The  free  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life 
through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."     So  that  those 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  217 

who  had  done  wrong  and  to  whom  sorrow  was  the 
inevitable  destiny,  could  be  brought  out  of  that 
course,  because  the  sorrow  had  fallen  upon  him. 
He  was  not  punished,  nor  compelled,  but  he  took 
upon  himself  that  which  the  very  nature  of  things 
made  necessary ;  the  pain  which  belongs  with  sin. 
Christ  does  this  that  he  may  save  men.  These 
are  the  facts.  If  I  were  to  frame  an  explanation  of 
them,  I  would  call  it  the  "parental  theory."  It  is 
God  being  the  Father.  If  you  are  a  good  father, 
30U  alwa3's  insist  upon  it  that  only  goodness  shall 
have  its  reward.  You  tell  your  child,  if  you  are  a 
Christian  mother,  from  the  first  time  he  can  under- 
stand you,  that  righteousness  tends  to  happiness, 
and  unrighteousness  away  from  happiness ;  and 
you  hold  your  child,  by  all  the  force  which  is  in 
you,  to  the  doing  of  that  which  is  right.  Yet, 
rather  than  that  3'our  child  should  suffer  for  his 
misdeeds,  you  would  do  anything  to  lead  him  back 
and  save  him.  You  insist  upon  it  that  he  must  do 
right.  There  is  not  a  day  in  the  year  when  you 
would  not  suffer  to  have  him  do  right,  and  every 
day  you  are  giving  yourself  to  this  intent.  I  call 
it  the  "mother  theory,"  the  "father  theory."  I 
write  it  in  with  the  Lord's  prayer:  "Our  Father 
who  art  in  heaven ;  forgive  us.  Thy  kingdom 
come.  Thy  will  be  done  on  earth"  — on  this  part 
of  the  earth  where  I  stand. 

I  have  said  all  that  I  wish  to  say.     I  should  be 
glad  to  end  here  ;  yet  I  know  the  questions  which 


218  CAMBBIDGE  SEBMONS. 

come  to  yonr  mind.  Men  say,  "If  God  is  love, 
why  is  it  not  enough  for  a  man  to  turn  from  the 
wrong  to  the  right  ? "  It  is  enough.  That  is 
what  I  have  been  saying  all  these  years.  That  is 
what  has  been  said  ever  since  Christ  came  into 
the  world.  It  is  enough,  if  a  man  turns  from  the 
wrong  to  the  right.  But  what  is  the  right? 
Right  is  obedience.  There  is  no  turning  to  the 
right  until  you  turn  to  God ;  and  there  is  no 
reception  there  until  it  is  God  in  mercy  to  whom 
you  turn  ;  and  God  in  mercy  is  God  in  Christ. 
If  3^ou  will  consistently  carr}^  out  the  turning  from 
the  wrong  to  the  right,  you  will  find  yourself 
turning  to  the  grace  of  God  which  is  in  Jesus 
Christ,  his  Son.  But  why  is  Christ  necessary? 
Why  cannot  God  forgive  us  just  as  well  without  a 
Saviour  ?  Why  cannot  we  go  to  God  without 
any  thought  of  Christ?  In  reply,  I  say  three 
things ;  First,  we  do  not  have  to  go  to  God  with- 
out Christ.  There  is  no  need  of  it.  Why  should 
we  seek  him  by  a  long  path,  as  if  he  were  afar 
off,  when  we  can  go  to  him  here  ?  Hear  Christ's 
word  again  :  "  No  man  cometh  unto  the  Father 
but  by  me."  Secondly,  it  is  necessary  that  God 
should  make  an  expression  of  his  character,  of  his 
nature ;  and  that  he  should  let  it  work  itself  out 
as  against  all  unrighteousness  and  evil,  lest  we 
should  feel  that  sin  is  such  a  trifling  matter  that, 
whenever  we  choose  to  make  new  resolves  every- 
thing  will    be    changed   in   our  relation  to  God. 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  219 

The  third  and  hist  thing,  which  will  be  to  you,  as 
it  is  to  nic,  the  most  imperative,  is  this  :  God  him- 
self appoints  the  way.  He  calls  us  to  himself  by 
Christ.  Would  he  have  given  his  Son  to  the  cross 
if  it  had  not  been  necessary?  You  and  I  may 
not  know  why  ;  God  knew.  Do  you  say  that  God 
is  love,  and  therefore  we  do  not  need  a  Saviour? 
God  loved  Christ  quite  as  much  as  he  did  men, 
and  he  gave  him  for  us  and  he  calls  us  to  him.  It 
is  God's  way  ;  let  us  be  content,  grateful  and  obe- 
dient. 

There  may  come  another  question :  Why  is  it 
necessary  for  us  to  do  an}' thing  ?  Why  may  we  not 
float  upon  this  tide  of  God's  love  into  Paradise  ? 
I  give  again  three  answers :  First,  we  do  not  need 
to  do  this.  We  can  have  divine  help,  we 
can  come  to  Christ ;  we  can,  therefore  w^e  should. 
Secondly,  we  are  free.  Character  must  be  made 
up  by  our  own  hands  ;  we  have  gone  away  from 
God  of  our  own  will;  we  must  come  back  to  God 
of  our  own  will.  There  is  no  obedience  but  will- 
ing obedience.  The  third  and  last  reason  is 
this:  Christ  calls  us  to  believe.  "  Whosoever  be- 
lieveth,"  he  said.  If  any  man  believeth,  he 
shall  be  saved.  AVhen  the  Holy  Spirit  comes,  fol- 
lowing the  work  of  Christ  with  his  divine 
efficiency,  it  is  not  to  foster  our  strengtli ;  to  make 
us  feel  how  good  we  are  ;  it  is  to  glorify  Christ : 
to  take  of  the  things  of  Christ  and  show  them  unto 
us,  that  we  may  be  saved  by  him. 


220  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

There  are  these  two  things  which  the  text  this 
morning  teaches  ns.  One  is,  that  Christ  has 
given  himself  for  our  sins.  Let  us  believe  that 
fact ;  believe  it  is  a  fact,  and  rest  in  it  and  love  it. 
Christ  says  that  he  has  given  himself  for  us,  and 
that  there  is  no  need  that  we  should  die  in  our 
sins.  The  other  teaching  is  this :  that  we  are  to 
live  through  him ;  we  are  to  take  his  will  and  do 
it;  to  go  steadily  on  in  obedience  to  God  who 
teaches  and  calls  us  through  Jesus  Christ  his 
Son. 

That  is  a  beautiful  little  incident  which  Doctor 
Livingstone  records  concerning  his  mother.  He 
heard  of  her  death  when  he  was  away.  He 
hastened  home,  and  found  that  death  had  come  to 
her  suddenly.  An  hour  and  a  half  before  they 
thought  she  was  going,  her  daughter  Agnes, 
sitting  by  her  bedside,  said  to  her,  "  The  Saviour 
has  come  for  you,  mother.  You  can  lippen  yourself 
to  him  ?  "  Of  course  she  said  *'  Yes ;  "  it  was  David 
Livingstone's  mother.  You  know  them  by  their 
fruits.  I  think  there  would  be  more  David 
Livingstones  if  there  were  more  such  women. 
She  had  the  natural  mother  feeling,  and  had  said 
she  would  like  to  have  one  of  her  laddies  lay  her 
head  in  the  grave ;  but  if  none  was  there,  she 
wished  William  Logan  would  do  it.  David  came 
home  in  time  for  that  filial  office.  But  there  was 
the  simple  faith  of  mother,  and  daughter,  and  son, 
expressed  in  that  Scotch  phrase,  "You  can  lippen 


THE  LOVE  OF  GOD  MANIFESTED.  221 

yourself  to  him,  mother  ?  "  You  can  trust  liim  ; 
you  can  liold  to  liim,  and  can  rest  in  his  promise  as 
you  go  your  new  way. 

So  I  come  away  from  men ;  and  first  of  all,  I 
come  away  from  myself — out  of  this  poor,  incon- 
stant will  and  way  of  mine ;  out  of  it  all  to  him  ; 
not  to  what  he  did  merely,  but  to  him.  There  is 
one  Saviour,  and  that  is  the  Christ  himself.  Oh, 
friends,  let  us  "  lippen  "  to  Him. 


XII. 

WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  HIM. 


ScEiPTUEE  Lesson  :  Bomans  viii  :  14-39. 

Text  :  Beloved,  now  are  we  the  sons  of  God ;  and  it  doth 
not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be ;  but  we  know  that  when  he 
shall  appear,  we  shall  be  like  him;  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he 
is.   John  iii :  2. 

IT  cloth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall  be." 
We  know  as  little  as  this  disciple  when  he 
wrote  these  words.  He  knows  more  ;  and  many 
who  have  gone  from  our  side  have  gained  that 
great  access  of  knowledge,  for  they  have  seen  the 
Lord.  Bat  to  ns  it  remains  true  that  "it  doth  not 
yet  appear  what  we  shall  be."  Hence  we  gather  up 
with  eagerness  every  hint  of  the  holy  Scriptures 
touching  this  wliich  is  certainly  before  us,  this 
land  upon  whose  confines  we  are  standing,  and 
into  which  so  many  are  entering  day  by  day,  if 
we  may  form  to  ourselves  any  conception  of  that 
which  is  coming  to  us  and  has  come  to  them.  In 
all  the  Scriptures  there  is  perhaps  no  teaching 
clearer  regarding  our  future  life,  more  level  to  our 
comprehension,  commending  itself  more  heartily 

222 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  UUI.  223 

to  our  thought,  than  this :  in  that  world  which  is 
above  us  and  beyond  us,  tliat  world  of  light  and 
love  towards  whicli  we  are  looking,  the  supreme 
delight,  the  highest  glor}',  will  be  this  :  "  We 
shall  be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

But  "it  dotli  not  yet  appear"  where  we  shall  bo 
in  that  vast  world  ;  nor  with  what  body  we  shall 
stand  ;  nor  what  employment  we  shall  have  where 
still  and  forever  it  will  be  "  more  blessed  to  give 
than  to  receive  "  ;  nor  to  what  glory,  what  heights 
of  advancement,  we  shall  rise  through  the  eternal 
training  of  God,  in  the  endless  years.  All  this 
"doth  not  yet  appear."  It  is  concealed  from  our 
eyes,  because  it  is  not  possible  that  it  should  be 
written  in  words.  Words  cannot  describe  a  sun- 
rise, or  a  symphony.  Words  cannot  tell  what 
home  is,  what  love  is,  what  life  is.  If  there  were 
words  formed,  if  there  were  pictures  drawn,  to 
make  it  clear  to  us  what  this  must  be,  we  should 
not  be  able  to  comprehend  the  revelation  until  it 
had  become  a  part  of  our  own  experience.  There 
are  certain  things  which  a  man  can  never  know 
until  he  feels  them  ;  until  his  life  enters  into  them, 
and  is  taken  up  by  them.  Michael  A ngelo  drawing 
figures  upon  the  wall  and  upon  the  floor,  cannot 
understand  what  he  shall  be  in  that  grand  career 
opening  before  liim.  David,  keeping  his  flocks, 
has  small  notion  of  the  royalty  which  shall  be  his  ; 
and  as  he  plays  his  tuneful  reeds,  he  cannot  con- 
ceive of  himself  as   leading    the  worship   of  the 


224  CAMBBIDGE  SER3WNS. 

saints  on  earth,  perhaps  in  heaven.  We  have  to 
enter  into  these  lives  and  find  Avhat  love  is  by 
loving;  what  home  is  by  having  a  home  ;  what  life 
is  b}^  living.  It  is  only  in  this  way  that  we  can 
rise  into  the  conception  of  that  to  which  we  are 
coming. 

This  limitation  of  our  powers  is  for  our  help. 
If  we  could  see  the  glory  that  is  to  come,  we 
might  be  weary  of  to-day ;  it  might  seem  harder 
to  do  that  which  we  must  do  —  to  dig  in  the 
ground,  to  build  houses,  to  handle  our  gold,  to 
write  our  books,  to  give  our  instruction,  to  trans- 
act our  business.  This  might  become  intolerable 
to  us;  our  eyes  might  not  be  able  to  see  the 
implements  of  our  common  industry  if  from  the 
upper  world  the  glory  should  smite  us  on  the  face. 
We  are  kept  waiting  in  promise  and  in  hope. 
It  is  made  certain  to  us  that  we  are  going  hence  ; 
we  are  assured  that  it  shall  be  well  for  those  who 
depart  hence  to  be  with  Christ ;  but  what  we  shall 
be,  in  what  form  of  glory  we  shall  spend  our 
eternity,  '4t  doth  not  yet  appear."  Yet  it  is  a 
marked  excellence  of  religion  that  it  turns  our 
thoughts  forward. 

The  Bible,  sometimes  criticized  because  it  does 
not  deal  more  thoroughly  with  the  past,  with 
Avhich  we  have  nothing  to  do,  deals  thoroughly 
with  the  present  and  the  future  wdth  which  we 
have  everything  to  do.  However  much  the  mul- 
titude   of    books   may  surpass  it  in    the  history 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  HIM.  225 

of  that  which  has  been,  it  stands  solitary  in  this 
preeminence,  that  it  tells  us  of  that  which  is  to 
be ;  and  that  which  is  our  present  duty  and 
our  hope  is  the  practical  truth  which  beyond 
everything  else  it  becomes  us  to  know.  I  claim 
this  for  the  Bible,  that  it  is  the  most  practical  of 
books ;  and  I  claim  this  for  religion,  that  it  con- 
cerns that  to  which  our  interests  are  most  utterly 
committed  ;  not  the  past,  into  which  we  cannot 
return,  but  the  future,  into  which  we  are  sure  to 
enter. 

As  we  read  these  words  of  the  apostle  this  morn- 
ing, we  mark  a  limitation  in  them.  They  are  set 
into  this  present  time.  "  Beloved,  noiv,''  says  the 
apostle  ;  not  yesterday,  not  in  the  primeval  ages; 
I  am  speaking  to  you  of  that  which  is  now.  In 
this  fact  of  the  present  stands  that  which  is  the 
promise  of  all  which  is  to  be.  "  Beloved,  now 
are  we  the  sons  of  God" — find  out,  if  you  can, 
what  you  were  a  myriad  3^ears  ago; —  '-''noiu  are 
we  the  sons  of  God."  From  this  present  fact 
comes  this  future  glory.  Because  we  are  now  the 
sons  of  God,  we  shall  be  like  him  presently,  "for 
we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

Take,  then,  this  fact  first :  we  are  now  the  sons 
of  God.  The  good  men  who  have  given  us  our 
revised  version  of  the  New  Testament  have 
changed  in  two  respects  these  words,  and  for  the 
better.  They  teach  us  to  read:  "Beloved,  now 
are  we  children   of  God."     They  strike   out  the 


226  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

article  which  limits  it.  It  is  no  longer  "  the 
sons,"  but  "  children."  We  are  children  of  God 
bj  virtue  of  our  nature  ;  we  are  born  of  God. 
We  are  spirit  as  God  is  spirit.  We  are  born 
again  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  regenerated  by  him, 
so  that  we  partake  of  the  divine  nature.  We  re- 
ceive from  God  that  affection  which  a  father  gives 
his  sons,  and  Ave  return  to  him  that  affection  which 
children  give  their  father.  We  receive  that  pro- 
tection, that  instruction,  that  guidance  which  a 
father  gives  his  children.  We  return  that  obedi- 
ence, that  trust,  that  submission,  which  children 
render  to  their  father.  We  have  our  home  with 
him  here,  and  our  heaven  is  to  be  with  God  in 
that  which  is  described  by  our  Lord  as  our 
Father's  house. 

If  we  take  that  more  restricted  use  of  this  term 
in  which  it  is  applied  to  our  Lord  himself,  the  Son 
of  God  and  the  Son  of  Man,  who  is  the  "  only  be- 
gotten Son"  of  the  Father,  we  find  still,  in  the 
most  wonderful  way,  the  assertion  of  this  fellow- 
sliip  with  him.  Thus,  Jesus  himself  said,  speak- 
ing to  men  :  "  My  Father  and  your  Father."  His 
greatest  apostle  said  that  he  was  "  the  first-born 
among  many  brethern:"  the  eldest  son.  In  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  it  is  written  that  he  is  not 
ashamed  to  call  us  brethren.  When  we  find  these 
terms  applied  on  the  one  hand  to  God  as  the 
Father,  and  on  the  other  to  us  as  his  children,  we 
are  not  to  think  of  them  in  some  loose  application, 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  IIUL  227 

as  if  the}^  went  beyond  the  fact.  The  truth  is,  they 
do  not  equal  the  fact.  The  words  are  not  hirge 
enough.  God  is  our  Father  in  tlie  largest  way, 
and  all  which  we  know  of  fatherhood  here  is  but 
the  likeness  to  his.  The  image  of  fatherhood  is 
in  our  liouse  ;  the  reality  of  fatherhood  is  in  God. 
We  imitate  fatherhood  which  has  its  reality  with 
God.  We  call  ourselves  children  of  our  father 
and  mother; the  reality  is  when  we  are  the  chil- 
dren of  God.  The  literal  is  the  eternal ;  the  di- 
vine is  the  real ;  the  true  fatherhood  is  in  God ; 
the  true  childhood  is  the  childhood  of  men  to 
God. 

We  are  not  surprised  at  the  use  of  this  name, 
father,  as  we  feel  how  tenderly  the  word  readies 
lis  in  our  lives  here  ;  how  it  comprehends  our  in- 
fancy and  blesses  us  all  our  days ;  that  we  never 
can  become  separated  from  it,  and  that  no  man 
ever  gets  so  old  or  strong  that  he  does  not  need  his 
father's  counsel  and  his  mother's  love  ;  and  that 
the  tenderest  thoughts,  which  we  keep  till  the 
last,  are  the  thoughts  of  our  childhood  in  the 
father's  house,  by  our  mother's  side.  And  when 
we  are  taught  to  elevate  all  which  is  filial  and 
sacred  into  our  thoughts  of  God,  we  should  be 
able  to  rise  in  faith,  and  see  that  this  which  we 
know  is  but  the  beg^innino^  of  that  which  is  for- 
ever.  When  one  of  the  missionaries  in  India  was 
translating  this  epistle  b}^  the  aid  of  a  Hindoo 
youth,  he  found  the  young  man  unwilling  to  write 


228  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

this  sentence.  He  had  written  an  avowal  of 
God's  love,  and  of  the  grace  which  God  has  shown  to 
men ;  but  when  he  was  told  to  write,  '-  now  are 
we  the  sons  of  God,"  he  wanted  to  write  instead 
of  that,  "  now  we  are  permitted  to  kiss  his  feet." 

From  this  comes,  secondly,  that  revelation  of 
glory  which  the  apostle  here  brings  to  our  atten- 
tion. We  shall  be  like  God,  and  therefore  like 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  who  is  the  image  of  the 
Father.  We  are  already  like  him  in  nature ;  we 
shall  be  like  him  in  character,  and  in  glory.  The 
apostle  teaches  us  that  "  beholding  as  in  a  glass  the 
glory  of  the  Lord,  we  are  changed  into  the  same 
image  from  glory  to  glory."  We  shall  be  like  him 
in  taste,  enjoying  what  he  enjoys,  turning  away 
from  that  which  he  dislikes.  We  shall  be  like  him 
in  life  and  work,  finding  in  his  purposes  our  own 
law  and  life,  and  delighting  to  do  liis  bidding  and 
to  share  his  work  as  he  is  striving  to  bless  men  in 
all  places  and  through  all  the  years.  We  shall  be 
like  God;  we  shall  not  be  God;  we  shall  not  be 
equal  to  God  ;  we  shall  be  like  him  ;  our  righteous- 
ness shall  resemble  his ;  our  glory,  our  spirit,  our 
taste,  our  occupation  shall  resemble  his. 

This  is  to  come,  again,  because  '*  we  shall  see 
him  as  he  is."  The  very  place  where  we  shall  see 
liiiii  is  favorable  to  this  resemblance  of  our  heart 
and  life  to  his.  Taken  away  from  all  that  hinders 
us  here,  we  shall  have  all  the  favorable  conditious 
which  shall  tend  to  make  us  like  him ;  all  incite- 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  HIM.  229 

ments  to  evil  shall  be  removed ;  there  will  be  no 
inclination  to  selfishness,  or  earthiness  ;  we  shall 
be  broken  from  tlie  bondage  of  the  flesh,  and  our 
very  body  itself  shall  be  spiritual  like  the  Lord's. 
"VVe  shall  stand  with  a  renewed  heart  where  the 
Holy  Spirit  shall  find  us,  and  the  light  shall  shine 
through  the  uncurtained  windows  of  the  soul  and 
illuminate  our  body  and  our  spirit.  This  putting 
our  weakness  away  from  us  and  receiving  within 
us  the  divine  strength  shall  carry  us  on  to  the  fulfil- 
ment of  that  word,  and  we  shall  be  like  the  Lord. 
We  shall  be  like  him  because  we  shall  see  him. 
Our  Lord's  face  we  shall  behold  ;  the  tones  of  his 
voice  we  shall  hear ;  we  shall  keep  company  with 
him;  in  his  presence  we  shall  be  incited  to  right- 
eousness. In  the  presence  and  power  of  his  will 
we  shall  choose  to  will  like  him  and  be  holy. 
Then  shall  the  Lord's  Prayer  be  uttered  in  the 
deep  sincerity  with  which  we  are  taught  it :  "Thy 
will  be  done,  by  me,  be  done  here,  in  heaven, 
to-day,  as  it  has  been  done  in  heaven  by  the  saints 
in  the  past."  We  shall  behold  the  face  of  Christ 
in  the  light  which  the  Spirit  of  God  shall  throw 
upon  it.  Then  shall  his  promise  be  carried  fur- 
ther:  "The  Holy  Spirit  shall  glorify  me."  He 
shall  hold  up  in  the  clear  light  of  heaven  the  deeds 
of  Christ.  "  He  shall  testify  of  me  ;  "  then  shall 
the  mystery  of  the  incarnation  become  plainer,  and 
those  deep  and  weighty  truths  of  redemption  be- 
come  clearer;    then   shall  we  be   moved   to  holy 


230  CAMBEIDGE  SERMONS. 

living  by  the  sight  of  that  Avhich  lie  has  done  for 
us,  when  it  is  no  longer  one  afar  off,  and  never 
seen,  whom  we  are  loving,  but  one  whom  we  see 
face  to  face,  and  of  whose  love  we  are  continually 
reminded  by  the  continual  manifesting  of  the  same 
affection.  The  sight  of  God — is  there  anything 
in  all  the  visions  of  the  future  which  can  surpass 
this  in  potency?  Is  there  anything  in  the  future 
to  which  we  look  forward,  which  is  more  glorious 
than  to  see  him  as  he  is?  I  call  to  mind  those 
simple  words  of  Laura  Bridgman,  written  in  an- 
ticipation of  that  which  was  before  her:  "By  the 
linger  of  God  my  eyes  and  ears  shall  be  opened. 
The  string  of  my  tongue  shall  be  loosed.  AVith 
sweeter  joys  in  heaven  I  shall  hear  and  speak  and 
see/'  She  has  not  seen  a  human  face  since  she  was  a 
little  child.  For  fifty  years  not  once  has  she  looked 
upon  a  friend.  And  I  said,  it  is  almost  worth 
while  to  be  blind,  if  the  first  face  which  one  shall 
see  is  the  face  of  Christ.  Would  you  not  like  to 
be  near  that  woman  when,  for  the  first  time,  she 
sees  a  friendly  face  and  that  face  is  Christ's?  It  is 
for  us,  too.  Out  of  this  world  we  shall  rise  ;  out  of 
its  darkness  into  that  light;  out  of  its  sinfulness 
into  that  righteousness ;  and  our  eyes  blurred 
with  the  dust,  and  dazzled  with  the  glitter,  and 
dimmed  with  the  tears  of  this  world,  shall  behold 
the  face  of  God.  And  we  shall  be  like  him  when 
we  shall  see  him  as  he  is. 

You  will  mark,  again,  that  these  words  have  in 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  IIUL  231 

them  a  twofold  limitation.  It  should  be  frankly 
confessed,  that  great  as  they  are,  and  vast  in  their 
expansion,  they  do  restrict  the  glories  of  heaven. 
They  limit  those  who  are  to  enter  heaven.  The 
sons  of  God,  the  children  of  God,  are  to  have 
this  delight.  They  limit  again  tlie  blessedness 
of  heaven.  It  consists  not  in  being  there,  but  in 
being  like  God.  To  this  twofold  limitation  we 
must  attend ;  first,  that  all  who  are  in  heaven  are 
children  of  God  ;  and,  secondly,  that  the  delight 
of  heaven  is  in  being  like  God.  If  one,  then,  is 
not  a  child  of  God,  manifestly  he  is  not  prepared  for 
this  blessedness  ;  and  if  a  man  cannot  find  happi- 
ness in  being  like  God,  then  manifestly  he  must 
find  that  this  happines  is  not  for  him.  And  this 
limitation  runs  through  the  Scriptures.  Heaven 
is  never  spoken  of  as  a  broad  plain,  but  as  a  city  — 
a  walled  cit}',  a  city  with  its  gates  and  with  a  path 
leading  to  it.  Its  walls  are  jewelled,  but  they  are 
still  walls.  Every  gate  is  a  pearl,  but  still  it  is  a 
gate.  The  door  is  open,  but  still  it  is  a  door.  The 
path  can  be  trodden,  but  still  it  is  a  path.  One 
comes  over  the  path  through  the  door,  into  the 
city  ;  and  standing  there  the  child  of  God,  able  to 
enjoy  what  God  enjoys,  he  has  found  heaven. 

If  there  be  any  profit  in  it,  it  is  very  easy  to 
enlarge  this.  Let  us  be  liberal  to-day.  The  num- 
ber of  those  who  shall  enjoy  heaven  can  be  in- 
creased b}^  lessening  the  quality  of  the  happiness, 
so  that  more  people  shall  be  capable  of  enjoying 


232  CAMBEIDGE  SEB3I0NS. 

it.  We  can  enlarge  our  college  on  this  plan. 
Simply  degrade  it  to  a  grammar  school,  bring  in 
the  studies  which  are  pursued  in  the  lowest  schools, 
and  we  can  multiply  our  students  indefinitely. 
We  can  enlarge  the  number  of  musicians  in  the 
same  way.  Simply  make  music  include  beating  a 
drum,  or  ringing  a  bell,  and  w^e  have  increased  the 
number  of  musical  artists.  Make  science  include 
paving  the  street  with  stones,  and  we  can  all  be 
scientific  men. 

What  enlargement  we  can  readily  make  !  Yet 
we  say  it  is  better  that  these  professions  and  in- 
stitutions should  maintain  their  high  standing, 
and  that  men  should  be  trained  to  enter  them  and 
enjoy  their  advantages.  That  is,  instead  of  de- 
grading the  college  to  a  primary  school,  we  may 
offer  to  every  one  who  wishes  it  the  opportunity 
to  enter  college  and  pursue  liberal  studies. 

We  hold  that  it  is  better  that  music  retain  its 
nobility,  and  that  we  be  trained  to  appreciate  that 
which  is  highest  and,  according  to  the  measure  of 
our  ability,  really  enlarge  the  melody  and  harmony 
of  the  world.  Is  it  not  better  that  heaven  should 
remain  just  what  it  is,  and  that  we  should  be  pre- 
pared to  enjoy  it  as  it  is,  than  that  we  should  re- 
main as  we  are  and  heaven  be  brought  down  to 
us?  As  it  is  to-day,  no  man  enters  God's  heaven 
who  does  not  love  God.  Bring  down  heaven  so 
that  everybody  is  in  it,  and  you  have  made  a  place 
abounding  in   selfishness.     It  is  this  world  over 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  HIM.  233 

again.  It  is  not  worth  while  for  a  man  to  take 
the  trouble  to  die.  As  well  stay  here,  if  heaven  is 
simply  an  extension  of  this  world,  and  men  there 
are  loving  or  not  loving  God,  as  it  "may  happen; 
and  one  trusts  him  and  another  does  not,  and  one 
is  kind  and  another  is  not,  and  one  worships  and 
another  does  not.  If  it  is  simply  the  confusion 
and  misrule  of  this  world  continued,  pray,  what 
have  we  gained  by  going  to  heaven  ?  Is  it  not 
rational  that  we  should  desire  to  stay  where  we 
are?  We  may  change  our  idea  of  heaven.  We 
may  broaden  the  common  conception  of  it.  We 
may  make  it  receive  and  retain  all  classes  and  con- 
ditions of  men.  We  can  write  heaven  where  we 
will.  But  the  Bible  method  is  the  true  one.  Let 
God's  heaveii  remain.  Take  not  a  jewel  from  the 
walls,  not  a  pearl  from  the  gates  ;  let  nothing  w^hich 
defileth  pass  the  threshold  ;  let  no  earthiness  or 
selfishness  enter  in  ;  let  there  be  no  man  there 
who  does  not  love  God  and  the  Saviour,  Christ  the 
Lord.  Let  heaven  stand  ;  then  train  men  up  for 
it,  teach  men  to  enjoy  it,  cultivate  their  taste  for 
it,  make  them  God's  children,  deliver  them  from 
themselves,  that  they  may  be  worthy  of  heaven, 
and  thus  prepare  them  for  God's  heaven.  It  is 
nobler  and  kinder  than  to  degrade  heaven  into  the 
dust  of  this  world. 

The  poor  boy  in  the  streets  of  London,  watch- 
ing the  royal  procession,  moved  by  the  glitter  of 
the  pageant,  says,  "  This  is  fine  ;  some  day  I  shall 


234  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

ride  in  the  royal  carriage,  I  shall  have  the  guards 
about  me  ;  I  shall  be  sovereign  of  England.  I  am 
good ;  I  want  to  be  king  of  England ;  the  queen 
is  kind  ;  she  will  appoint  me  king."  You  tell  him 
that  he  cannot  be  king  of  England  because  he  is 
not  in  the  royal  family.  It  is  the  queen's  eldest 
son  who  is  to  be  king.  But  what  if  there  were 
two  kings,  as  in  Siam;  wliat  if  there  were  a  thou- 
sand kings,  as  among  the  African  tribes  ?  Still, 
one  must  have  royalty  to  come  to  the  regal  estate. 
It  is  possible  to-day  for  a  man  to  become  God's 
child;  then  he  has  the  benefits  and  blessings  of 
God's  children.  You  say  that  God  calls  every- 
body his  child  and  loves  everybody.  It  is  true ; 
more  true  than  you  think.  But  the  true  child 
loves  as  well  as  receives  love.  Childhood  needs 
the  answering  heart  of  man  if  it  is  to  have  the 
child's  blessing.  We  can  be  God's  children  in  the 
high  and  true  sense.  It  is  written,  "  As  many  as 
received  him,  to  them  gave  he  the  right  to  become 
children  of  God."  Would  you  rather  that  were 
written  in  this  way :  "  He  gave  a  selfish  man  the 
right  to  enjoy  heaven  ?  "  It  is  better  to  change 
the  man  and  let  the  heaven  remain.  Or  take  our 
Lord's  assurance  that  we  must  be  —  that  is,  we 
may  be — "born  of  the  Spirit  of  God."  To  be 
born  of  God  is  to  be  his  child  and  his  heir.  Or 
recall  these  words,  "  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  to 
seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost."  Or  these, 
"  I  give  unto  my  sheep  eternal  life,  and  they  shall 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  UUL  235 

never  perish,  neither  shall  any  man  pluck  them 
out  of  my  hand."  The  whole  burden  of  the  Gos- 
pel is  this  :  "  Tlicrc  is  a  glorious  heaven,  full  of  all 
delight,  of  supreme  and  everlasting  blessedness  ; 
and  I  am  here  to  prepare  3'ou  to  enter  it."  Shall 
we  cry,  "  Lord,  bring  lieaven  down  to  us  ?  "  No  ; 
he  will  bring  us  up  to  lieaven.  "  Lord,  change 
heaven  so  that  a  selfish  man  can  enjoy  it?  "  No  ; 
he  will  change  the  selfish  man  so  that  he  can  enjoy 
the  lieaven  which  is.  "  Lord,  change  heaven  so 
that  a  man  can  enjoy  it  who  never  loved  the  Lord 
and  Saviour  ?  "  No  ;  he  will  let  heaven  stay  pre- 
cisely as  it  is,  and  change  us  so  that  we  shall  love 
and  trust  and  serve  the  Lord  of  heaven. 

This  is  the  method  of  the  Gospel.  It  is  a 
grand,  broad  hope  ;  it  is  the  larger  hope ;  it 
leaves  heaven  on  the  heights  and  with  its 
glories  unharmed ;  it  offers  to  every  child  of 
man,  the  world  over,  the  opportunity  of  entering 
into  it.  It  withholds  no  man  ;  it  makes  it  too 
difficult  for  no  man.  It  does  not  stretch  out  the 
walls  of  heaven  until  they  enclose  this  earth  with 
all  its  earthiness :  it  lets  the  walls  remain.  It 
does  not  take  away  the  door,  as  Samson  carried 
the  gates  of  Gaza,  but  it  opens  the  door,  and 
leaves  it  standing  open.  It  does  not  drive  us  in, 
or  force  heaven  around  us,  as  the  waters  rising 
make  an  island  of  a  man's  house,  but  it  stands  at 
the  open  door  of  God's  heaven  and  cries,  "  Whoso- 
ever will  —  without  money  and  without  price  — 


236  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

whosoever  will,  wherever  he  is,  let  him  come. 
Every  joy  of  heaven  is  his,  all  the  wealth  of  heaven 
is  his  ;  the  summons  is  free  to  everlasting  glory. 
Behold,  I  have  set  before  you  an  open  door  into 
God's  enduring  grace."  Surely  we  are  gainers 
by  this  method.  Let  heaven  stand.  It  is  for  all 
men,  in  the  Father's  love  for  all  men.  The  Father 
calls  all  men ;  Christ  gave  himself  for  all  men ; 
"  the  Spirit  and  the  Bride  say  come."  The  wealth 
of  God  and  the  pure  joys  of  his  heaven  are  of- 
fered to  us  for  the  taking.  Let  us  promptly  and 
gratefully  accept  the  grace  of  God,  that  we  may 
enjoy  the  riches  of  his  love  in  his  heaven. 

Let  us  mark  the  breadth  of  this,  and  feel,  first,  that 
heaven  is  very  great  and  good,  and  then,  that  it  is 
offered  to  every  one  of  us.  Every  man  is  asked  to 
become  the  child  of  God  ;  every  man  who  will  can 
be  the  child  of  God.  "  Ye  will  not  come  to  me," 
Jesus  said.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  fail  of  heaven. 
But  we  shall  not  fail  of  God's  heaven  because 
there  is  a  door,  for  the  door  is  open  ;  nor  because 
we  are  not  called,  nor  because  we  cannot  come. 
If  we  fail  of  God's  heaven  it  is  because  we  will  not 
be  the  children  of  God. 

Perhaps  we  shall  get  a  clearer  idea  if  we  re- 
member that  this  heaven  which  is  above  us  is 
Christ's  heaven.  He  has  made  it,  he  will  enjoy  it. 
It  is  such  a  heaven  as  is  pleasant  to  him.  If,  now, 
we  are  to  enjoy  the  same  heaven,  then  we  must  be 
like  him,  and  able   to  enjoy  what  Christ  enjoys. 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  IIUL  237 

Whenever  we  come  it  must  be  witli  a  preparation 
to  enjoy  the  things  of  Christ,  There  are  visions  of 
the  future  Avhich  many  are  cherishing,  that  some- 
where, beyond  this  world,  down  tlie  ages,  all  men 
will  enter  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  If  it  is  so, 
they  must  come  in  the  one  way.  A  million  years 
hence  heaven  will  be  as  it  is  to-day.  No  man  can 
ever  enjoy  heaven  until  he  is  qualified  to  enjoy 
what  Christ  enjoys.  No  man  can  ever  enter 
heaven,  ages  and  ages  hence,  but  through  that 
which  Christ  has  done.  No  man  will  ever  be 
fitted  to  enjoy  Christ's  heaven  until  tiie  Spirit  of 
God  has  made  him  a  child  of  God.  Time  has 
nothino'  to  do  with  that.  There  is  no  clianf^e  o^ 
method.  If  Ave  ever  find  our  way  into  the  city,  it 
vrill  be  through  that  open  door,  and  the  door  will 
be  there  forever  and  forever. 

If  this  be  true,  should  we  not  find  the  beginning 
of  heaven  here,  by  choosing  here  what  Christ  likes? 
If  we  can  enjoy  the  things  of  Christ  now,  then  we 
shall  have  the  enjoyment  of  his  presence  here. 
We  can  have  the  siglit  of  his  face  which  shall  fill  us 
with  joy.  It  was  a  pleasant  remark  of  the  woman 
through  whose  guidance  so  many  are  "stepping 
heavenward,"  when  speaking  of  her  scholars  and 
their  trivial  ways  and  words,  slje  exclaimed,  "  Oh, 
but  this  is  such  a  nice  world,  and  the  girls  do  not 
know  it!  "  Yes,  this  is  a  good  world,  and  we  do 
not  know  how  good  it  is.  But  the  greatest  joy 
which  comes  to  men  in  this  life  is  the  joy  of  being 


238  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

like  Christ;  having  his  will,  his  character,  his 
spirit,  his  confidence  in  the  Father,  his  anticipation 
of  the  glory  to  come.  These  we  can  have  here 
to-day.  He  said  many  things  touching  heaven. 
Sometimes  a  man  goes  out  at  the  dawn,  and  look- 
ing up  at  the  star  which  heralds  the  day,  admires 
its  beauty,  and  there  comes  a  voice  out  of  the  ex- 
cellent glory :  "  To  that  man,  who,  rising  early, 
comes  forth  to  serve  me  througli  the  day,  I  will 
give  the  morning  star."  He  looks  up  to  the  sk}^ 
which  is  above  him,  and  thinks  of  the  temple  of 
God  with  its  roof  glittering  with  the  light  which  is 
celestial  and  eternal;  and  he  wonders  what  shall 
hold  up  the  everlasting  beauty  !  "  That  man  who 
comes  forth  to  his  work  loving  me  and  doing  my 
will  from  day  to  day,  I  will  make  him  a  pillar  in 
the  temple  of  my  God."  Who  shall  rule  there, 
and  what  shall  be  the  sj)irit  and  the  law  of  heaven, 
where  the  throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  is  set  ? 
"  That  man  who,  kneeling  here,  devotes  his  life  to 
me  in  this  world,  makes  himself  pure  of  heart  and 
does  the  deeds  which  are  pleasing  in  my  siglit,  I 
will  grant  to  him  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne." 

But  oh,  beloved,  to  own  the  morning  star,  to  be 
a  pillar  in  the  temple,  to  sit  upon  the  throne,  can- 
not allure  and  comfort  us  and  draw  our  thought 
and  life  upward  and  onw^ard  as  does  this  simple 
word  which  we  have  read  to-day.  Here  in  this 
weakness  and  this  sin ;  here  with  this  poor  vision 
and  these  faltering  hopes ;   here  with  these  disap- 


WE  SHALL  BE  LIKE  HIM.  239 

pointments  and  defeats,  the  great  comfort  which 
comes  to  a  man  is  that  there  is  a  day  when  he 
shall  be  like  Him.  With  glad  voice  he  cries,  "  I 
shall  be  like  Him,  for  I  shall  see  Him  ;  I  shall  see 
Him  as  he  is." 


XIII. 
THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST. 


ScRiPTUKE  Lesson  :    Hebrews,  i. 

Text  :   Jesus  Christ  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day,  and 
forever.    Hebrews  xiii :  8. 

JESUS  CHRIST  is  the  same  yesterday  and 
to-day,  yea,  and  forever."  It  is  in  this  way 
that  the  new  version  teaches  us  to  read  the  sen- 
tence. There  is  here  the  assertion  of  two  facts  : 
first,  that  our  Lord  has  eternal  life ;  his  eternal 
yesterday,  his  endless  years;  and  secondly,  that 
through  this  eternity  he  has  been,  and  ever  more 
shall  be,  the  same. 

We  are  accustomed  to  make  a  threefold  division 
of  Christ's  life,  though  not  always  in  these  words. 
We  think  of  the  part  preceding  his  entrance  into 
the  world,  then  of  the  time  which  he  spent  among 
us  ;  and  then  of  the  years  in  which  he  now  is 
living.  It  is  not  difficult  for  us  to  feel — indeed, 
it  is  our  common  thought  —  that  during  the  long 
periods  before  and  since  his  incarnation,  our  Lord 
is  the  same.  We  regard  his  life  here,  perhaps,  as 
240 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST.  241 

a  break  in  liis  career,  a  change  in  his  condition, 
while  the  parts  before  it  and  after  it  hold  him  in 
the  sameness  of  his  character. 

Let  us  look,  for  a  moment,  at  the  fact  that 
Christ  is  the  same  3'esterday  and  forever.  We  do 
not  need  to  dwell  npon  it.  I  remind  you  simply  of 
these  sayings  of  Scripture  regarding  liim.  First, 
"  In  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  Word 
was  with  God,  and  the  Word  was  God."  "  The 
Word  became  flesh,  and  dwelt  among  us."  Then, 
upon  the  other  hand,  for  the  future,  "  Unto  the 
Son  he  saith.  Thy  throne,  O  God,  is  forever  and 
ever."  Or  take  this  saying  of  our  Lord's,  when, 
looking  forward,  he  prayed  to  the  Father  :  "  Glorify 
thou  me  with  thine  own  self  with  the  glory  which 
I  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was  ; "  thus 
bringing  his  past  into  his  future  and  asking  for 
the  endless  ages  only  that  which  in  the  unbegotten 
eternity  he  had  enjoyed. 

It  is  not  upon  this  that  I  wish  to  dwell,  but  rather 
upon  this  fact:  that  our  Lord,  during  the  brief 
interval  between  the  "yesterday"  and  the  to-mor- 
row, the  time  which  is  here  called  the  '^  to-day," 
was  the  same  as  during  these  years  before  and 
after  that  brief  period.  We  are  surprised,  perhaps, 
that  this  should  be  so.  Our  common  thought  is 
of  a  change  —  the  greatest  change  that  could  be 
made;  a  change  which  it  beggars  language  to 
describe.  Is  it  not  written  of  him  —  and  to  find 
it  we  do  not  need  to  turn  beyond  the  simple  record 


242  CAMBBIDGE  SEBMONS. 

of  his  own  life  —  that  the  word  which  was  in  the 
beginning  became  flesh  ?  Surely  no  change  could 
be  greater  than  that.  He  was  worshipped  by  the 
angels,  and  yet  he  was  made  a  little  lower  than  the 
angels.  He  was  rich,  yet  for  our  sake  he  became 
poor.  Take  that  sentence  of  St.  Paul's  in  which  the 
two  facts  are  asserted,  that  he  was  "in  the  form 
of  God,"  "  but  emptied  himself,  taking  the  form  of  a 
servant;  and  being  found  in  fashion  as  a  man,  he 
humbled  himself,  becoming  obedient  even  unto 
death,  yea,  the  death  of  the  cross."  Then  for  the 
future  :  "  Wherefore  also  God  highly  exalted  him, 
and  gave  unto  him  the  name  winch  is  above  every 
name."  Surely  as  we  read  from  one  passage  to 
another  and  mark  these  transitions,  it  is  difficult 
to  believe  that  he  is  the  same  in  this  to-day  that 
he  was  in  the  yesterday. 

Or,  if  we  should  take  the  outward  circumstances 
as  they  are  presented  to  us,  and  mark  the  change, 
we  have  the  coming  from  heaven  to  earth ;  the 
exchange  of  a  throne  for  a  manger  ;  the  worship 
of  angels  for  the  rejection  of  men  ;  the  blessedness 
of  his  eternity  for  the  wounding,  the  smiting,  the 
rejection,  which  here  were  visited  upon  him.  It 
is  a  giving  up  of  life  for  death  upon  the  cross.  It 
is  coming  from  that  endless  brightness  into  the 
gloom  of  the  sepulchre.  Is  there  any  change  con- 
ceivable greater  than  this?  What,  then,  means 
this  word  of  the  Scripture  which  is  written  in 
among  these   marvellous   transitions,  that   Jesus 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHBIST.  243 

Christ  to-day,  in  this  world,  in  all  its  Avretchedness, 
and  upon  its  cross,  is  the  same  that  he  is  enthroned 
in  heaven,  in  the  endless  years  which  are  before 
and  after  us  ? 

We  are  familiar  with  the  fact  that  a  man's  out- 
ward condition  may  change  without  any  change  in 
the  man.  It  is  not  so  common  as  it  ought  to  be  ; 
yet  it  is  not  so  rare  that  we  do  not  often  recognize 
it.  We  mark  one  coming  from  his  boyhood  into 
his  manhood,  taking  on  the  responsibilities  of  life, 
doing  its  work,  filling  its  offices,  administering  its 
trust,  gathering  its  treasures,  and  then  passing  into 
a  serene  old  age  which  bears  him  on  to  his  immor- 
tality ;  but  through  all  these  changes  remaining 
still  the  same,  keeping  the  simplicity  of  his  boy- 
hood, retaining  his  quick  and  vigorous  conscience, 
never  suffering  to  be  obliterated  the  distinction 
between  right  and  wrong  which  he  learned  at  his 
mother's  side  ;  never  forgetting  the  simple  maxims 
of  morality  which  were  taught  him  in  the  Sabbath- 
school,  fashioning  all  his  life  by  the  unchanging 
rules  of  right,  keeping  the  tenderness  and  sweetness 
of  his  affection.  We  are  familiar  with  a  change 
which  is  not  the  change  of  the  man,  even  within  a 
single  day,  as  when  a  strong  man  rises  in  the 
morning,  makes  his  prayer  before  God,  plays  with 
his  children,  goes  out  into  the  stress  of  life,  spends 
the  day  upon  the  exchange,  in  the  court  room,  in 
the  workshop,  comes  home  at  night,  to  the  seclusion 
of  his  own  fireside,  to  lay  off  all  the  harness  of  the 


2-44  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

clay  and  all  the  cares  of  life ;  and  yet  from  first  to 
last  is  the  same  man,  moved  by  the  same  spirit,  as 
really  living  for  God  at  noonday  as  at  midnight ; 
as  really  living  for  his  children  when  they  are  out 
of  his  mind  and  he  is  only  working  for  them,  as 
when  he  holds  them  upon  his  knee  or  joins  in  their 
childish  sports.  We  saj^  of  him,  from  the  morning 
when  he  prayed,  through  the  day  in  which  he 
toiled,  in  the  evening  when  he  rested,  that  he  is 
the  same  man.  Open  his  heart :  no  change  has 
passed  upon  it ;  his  purposes  have  suffered  no 
alteration,  his  affections  have  not  been  modified. 
From  morning  to  noon,  and  noon  to  midnight,  he 
is  still  the  same. 

Now  these  changes  which  have  come  upon 
Christ's  life  are  changes  of  condition  which  do 
not  necessarily  involve  a  change  of  character. 
To  come  from  heaven  to  earth,  from  the  throne  to 
the  cross,  does  not  show  any  change  in  him.  In- 
deed, it  is  an  attribute  of  a  great  nature  to  be 
able  to  come  from  the  throne  to  the  manger,  and 
to  be  the  same  in  the  manger  that  it  was  upon  the 
throne.  The  man  who  is  able  in  all  places  to  be 
the  same,  is  the  oak  and  not  t]ie  orchid;  is  the  man 
of  God  and  not  the  man  of  this  world ;  and  is 
living  by  an  unchanging  law.  It  is  saying  a  great 
deal,  but  it  is  not  saying  too  much,  nor  stepping 
beyond  the  true  conception  of  his  character,  to  say 
that  in  his  humiliation  there  was  nothing  to 
change  Christ ;  that,  whether  he  was  worshipped 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST.  245 

by  angels,  or  mocked  by  men ;  whether  he  was  re- 
ceiving gifts  or  giving  himself,  he  was  the  same. 
It  is  the  ro3^alt3^  of  manhood  to  be  independent  of 
conditions ;  it  is  an  essential  part  of  the  divinity 
of  Christ. 

Yet  we  stand  in  wonder  and  admiration  before 
the  chancres  in  Christ's  life.  I  know  of  nothino- 
to  wliich  they  can  be  closely  compared.  I  have 
thought  of  a  man  at  home ;  a  father,  great  and 
rich,  whose  house  is  furnished  with  all  luxuries, 
whose  children  live  in  his  love.  From  this  father, 
out  of  this  home,  a  son  wanders  away;  goes  down 
into  the  "far  country;  "  wastes  his  substance,  for- 
gets his  home.  Then  the  father,  leaving  his 
house,  goes  after  his  son.  He  gives  up  his  busi- 
ness for  the  search ;  spends  his  money  and  his  time 
that  he  may  reclaim  his  son  ;  suffers  for  him  ;  gives 
himself  in  sacrifice;  at  last  finds  him  and  brings 
him  home.  It  is  the  father  who  has  done  this. 
He  is  the  same  man  in  the  far  country  that  he  was 
in  his  liome  ;  the  same  man  in  his  seeking  and  sav- 
ing that  he  was  in  the  repose  of  his  own  dwelling. 
It  is  because  of  a  love  which  is  equal  to  the 
search,  that  he  goes  down  to  bring  back  his  wan- 
dering, his  lost  son.  And  I  said,  when  God  comes 
down  out  of  heaven  and  is  made  flesh,  he  has  not 
become  some  one  else ;  he  is  the  same  God,  striv- 
ing to  bring  us  back  to  himself  by  his  unchanging 
love.  Hence,  we  read  this  sentence  of  the  Script- 
ure :    that  the  Lamb  of  God  who  was  given  for  us 


246  CAMBBIBGE  SEBMONS. 

in  sacrifice  was  "  slain  from  tlie  foundation  of  the 
world."  We  read  again  in  the  words  of  the  apos- 
tle that  God  hath  "  saved  us,  and  called  us  with 
a  holy  calling;  not  according  to  our  works,  but 
according  to  his  own  purpose  and  grace,  which 
was  given  us  in  Christ  Jesus  before  times  eternal, 
but  hath  now  been  manifested  by  the  appearing  of 
our  Saviour  Christ  Jesus." 

If,  now,  we  examine  the  life  of  our  Lord  as  it  is 
lived  before  us  here  in  the  world,  we  shall  see  that 
it  is  not  held  within  the  common  limits,  but  is 
connected  with  a  life  which  is  not  bounded  by 
time,  nor  confined  by  events. 

From  first  to  last  he  is  living  as  one  whose  years 
here  are  but  a  part  of  a  life  which  began  long  be- 
fore, and  will  continue  after  he  has  gone  hence. 
His  entrance  upon  life  is  not  of  this  world.  The  Holy 
Ghost  descends ;  the  power  of  the  Highest  over- 
shadows the  Virgin  ;  and  the  holy  thing  which  is 
born  of  her,  is  called  the  Son  of  God.  He  bears  two 
names.  He  is  called  "  Jesus,  for  it  is  he  that  shall 
save  his  people  from  their  sins."  He  is  called  by  the 
angel  "Immanuel,  God  with  us."  Of  the  years 
which  follow  we  know  almost  nothing.  Thirty 
3^ears  out  of  the  thirty-three  lie  in  obscurity. 
There  is  not  a  legend  to  be  trusted.  Not  an  inci- 
dent is  known  except  the  interview  of  a  boy  twelve 
years  old  with  the  doctors  in  the  temple.  The 
years  lie  in  their  mystery.  They  are  lost  in  the 
brilliancy  of  the  ages  before  and  after  them. 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHBIST.  247 

As  he  moves  through  life  he  is  clearly  in  connec- 
tion with  the  past.  He  does  not  say,  "  I  am  here," 
but  '^ I  came  ;  "  "I  was  sent ;  "  "  God  loved  the 
world  and  gave  his  Son."  He  is  continually  in 
contact  with  the  unseen.  The  heavens  part,  and 
the  Holy  Ghost  descends  in  bodily  form  like  a  dove 
and  abides  upon  him.  He  goes  among  the  cliffs  of 
Plermon,  and  his  face  becomes  dazzling  and  his 
garments  white,  "  so  as  no  fuller  on  earth  can  white 
them."  Angels  herald  his  coming,  succor  him  in 
his  temptation,  minister  to  him  in  the  garden, 
watch  his  sejDulchre,  attend  him  on  the  mount  of 
his  ascension.  He  had  but  to  lift  his  pierced  hand 
and  more  than  twelve  lections  of  ano^els  who  were 
so  near  that  he  could  touch  them  would  have  res- 
cued him  from  his  captors.  He  spends  nights 
upon  the  mountains  in  communion  with  liis  father. 
He  hears  voices  which  no  man  can  interpret ;  some 
say  it  thunders  ;  others  that  an  angel  spake  to  him. 
He  talks  with  God  as  a  man  with  his  father.  He 
declares  that  his  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world. 
Standing  here,  in  all  his  humility,  he  says,  "  Ye 
shall  see  the  heaven  opened,  and  the  angels  of 
God  ascending  and  descending  upon  the  Son  of 
]\Ian."  Thus  he  lives,  not  as  belonging  in  Naza- 
reth or  Bethlehem,  in  Jerusalem  or  Samaria,  but 
as  one  whose  home  is  above.  His  Father's  house 
is  be3^ond  the  wOrld.  He  is  tarrying  here  with  his 
glory  upon  him,  and  it  comes  even  to  his  death,  of 
which  he  says,  "  Now  is  the  Son  of  Man  glorified." 


248  CAMBBIBGE  SEBM0N8. 

He  lived  three  and  thirty  years  in  Palestine  :  but 
there  is  not  a  spot  in  the  land  which  can  be  con- 
nected with  his  presence,  save  only  Jacob's  well  at 
Samaria,  where  in  his  weariness  he  rested.  He 
reads  his  biography  from  Moses  and  the  prophets. 
In  the  time  of  his  transfiguration  the  Lawgiver 
and  the  Prophet  come  and  talk  with  him  of  that 
which  was  well  known  in  heaven,  and  would  be 
celebrated  here  for  centuries.  Surely  he  lives  in 
contact  with  the  past  and  with  the  years  to  come ; 
in  communion  and  fellowship  with  the  unseen. 

His  teachings  were  of  the  same  character. 
Even  the  people  said  that  he  taught  like  no  other 
teacher  they  had  known.  There  was  a  strange 
authority  about  his  words.  The  officers  who  were 
sent  to  bring  him  to  the  Sanhedrim,  came  back  with- 
out him,  and  said,  "Never  man  so  spake."  He 
spoke  upon  themes  of  the  most  vital  interest :  God, 
duty,  immortality,  the  grace  of  God,  the  gift  of 
God,  the  judgment  and  the  life  to  come.  Men 
sometimes  had  talked  of  these  things,  but  no  one 
had  ever  spoken  clearly  until  he  declared  the  truth. 
He  taught  with  authority  which  intelligence  and 
honesty  could  not  resist.  His  words  remain  to- 
day, still  strong  and  fresh.  The  world  has  no 
system  of  ethics  like  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount. 
The  world  has  not  yet  risen  to  the  plane  of  the 
morality  which  he  taught,  and  enforced,  and  illus- 
trated with  tlie  wisdom  which  was  his  in  the  eter- 
nal yesterday. 


THE  UNCHANGING  CUlilST.  249 

If  we  pass  to  liis  works  it  is  quite  the  same. 
No  one  ever  worked  like  him.  Others  had  wrought 
miracles  by  the  power  of  God;  he  wrought  mir- 
acles by  his  own  power.  His  miracles  had  long 
before  been  named.  They  were  in  the  record  of 
the  past.  You  find  scarcely  anything  said  of  them 
in  the  Gospel  which  was  not  written  in  the  proph- 
ets. You  have  but  to  fix  names  and  dates  to  what 
the  prophets  said,  and  you  find  recorded  in  the 
Old  Scriptures  the  works  which  are  the  miracles 
of  the  New.  You  can  read  the  Gospel  almost  as 
well  in  Isaiah  as  in  John.  There  was  no  reason 
why  his  life  should  not  be  described  centuries  be- 
fore he  came  into  the  world,  for  he  was  living,  with 
his  purposes  formed,  from  the  beginning.  Our 
plans  may  come  to  nothing.  With  God  to  plan  is 
to  do.  God's  intention  is  God's  action.  God's 
purpose  is  as  certain  as  its  accomplishment  will  be. 
God's  to-morrow  is  as  fixed  as  his  yesterday. 
Hence  Christ  had  but  to  live  out  the  endless  pur- 
pose which  he  had  with  the  Father,  and  his  life 
would  pass  into  this  earthly  stage  and  go  on  into 
its  glor3\  Indeed,  we  might  say  that  the  very 
works  which  such  an  one  must  do  if  he  comes  here, 
are  these  works  which  he  did.  It  is  a  wonderful 
evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  miracles,  that  no  one 
else  has  done  works  like  them.  It  is  sometimes 
said  that  these  miracles  cannot  be  true,  because 
they  are  not  common ;  we  ought  to  see  other  per- 
sons doing  the  same  thing.     But  their  singularity 


250  CAMBRIDGE  SER3I0]SfS. ' 

is  a  witness  to  their  reality.  If  they  were  com- 
mon, they  would  not  be  miracles.  If  others 
did  them,  the  Christ  would  not  be  content  with 
them.  It  is  because  no  one  else  ever  did  them, 
and  no  one  else  ever  will  do  them ;  it  is  because 
in  all  human  might  there  is  nothing  like  the  mir- 
acles of  Christ,  that  his  miracles  are  true  and  the 
witness  to  his  divinity,  to  his  yesterday,  and  his 
to-morrow.  For  we  may  be  sure  that  if  the  Word 
becomes  flesh  and  dwells  among  men,  it  will  not  be 
content  Avith  the  duties  of  the  common  life,  the 
ordinary  work,  the  customary  usefulness  of  men. 
He  will  not  content  himself  in  wandering  over 
the  hills  about  Nazareth,  and  communing  with 
nature,  and  drawing  in  its  strength  and  inspira- 
tion, and  using  these  in  the  years  of  his  public 
ministry.  If  Christ  is  here,  he  will  do  what  no 
one  else  has  done.  The  blind  will  receive  their 
sight,  the  deaf  will  hear,  the  lame  will  leap,  the 
dead  will  be  raised  up,  and  the  poor  will  have  the 
Gospel  preached  to  them.  If  there  have  not  been 
done  upon  the  earth  such  things  as  never  before 
and  never  since  were  wrought,  then  the  Jew  is 
right  and  the  Christ  is  yet  to  come.  Christ  is  not 
yet  to  come  to  redeem  the  world.  The  Clmst  has 
come ;  the  everlasting  yesterday  has  become  to- 
day. 

His  death  was  in  keeping  with  his  life.  No 
one  ever  died  as  he  died.  The  teachings  of  Script- 
ure seem  to  be  set  aside  when  they  approach  his 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST.  251 

death.  "  Yea,  though  I  walk  through  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death,  I  will  fear  no  evil;  for 
thou  art  with  me  ;  thy  rod  and  th}'  staff  they 
comfort  me."  How  many  have  lived  in  the  faith 
of  these  words  ?  Yet,  when  he  came  to  his  death, 
forsaken  and  despised  of  men,  suffering  under  the 
darkened  heavens,  the  "  rod  "  was  not  stretched 
out  for  him,  and  the  "  staff  "  did  not  comfort  him. 
He  did  not  go  to  his  death  unwillingly,  as  one 
overpowered.  He  gave  his  life.  "  No  one  taketh 
it  away  from  me  ;  but  I  lay  it  down  of  myself,"  he 
said.  No  one  else  ever  claimed  for  his  death  such 
power  as  he  claimed.  He  claimed  for  his  death 
more  than  for  his  life.  "  And  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up 
from  the  earth  will  draw  all  men  unto  myself!" 
"  I  lay  down  my  life  for  the  sheep,"  for  "  I  am  the 
good  sliepherd."  Men  must  feed  upon  his  broken 
body,  and  drink  his  blood,  to  have  the  life  which  he 
gives,  and  his  blood  is  shed  "  unto  the  remission 
of  sins."  It  was  not  possible  that  he  should  be 
holden  of  death.  Stone,  seal,  soldiers,  Jewish 
malice  and  Roman  might  could  be  of  no  avail. 
When  upon  the  dial  plate  of  heaven  the  moment 
of  the  third  day  had  struck,  he  came  out  from  the 
sepulchre.  Had  all  the  trees  of  the  garden  been 
soldiers,  with  their  spears  close  as  the  rustling 
leaves,  it  would  liave  made  no  difference.  When 
the  hour  had  come,  Christ  must  come.  Tliere 
was  the  yesterday  which  nothing  in  to-day  could 
master.      The   eternal    could   not   be    entombed. 


252  CAMBEIDGE  SERMONS. 

He  rose  from  the  dead  ;  lie  revealed  himself  to 
men  ;  he  stood  among  his  disciples  and  reached 
his  hands  over  them  in  blessing,  and  was  parted 
from  them,  and  received  up  into  his  glory. 
Throucrh  all  his  life  what  claims  he  made  :  "  Before 
Abraham  was,  I  am  ;  "  "I  am  the  resurrection ; " 
"I  am  the  life:"  "I  am  the  way;"  "No  man 
Cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by  me;"  "  No  man 
can  come  to  me  except  the  Father  draw  him." 
Recall  that  grandest  of  all  promises  which  has 
nothing  to  exceed  it.  "  I  give  unto  them  eternal 
life  ;  "  I  give  eternity  ;  I  give  an  eternity  of  life. 
I  have  mentioned  certain  features  of  our  Lord's 
life,  that  we  may  see  how  closely  his  to-day  is  con- 
nected with  the  eternal  yesterday  and  to-morrow. 
If  we  regard  the  life  as  a  whole,  the  same  unity 
appears.  The  endless  proportions  entered  into  his 
being  and  character.  He  had  the  traits  of  no  na- 
tion, tlie  limitations  of  no  age.  He  was  the  Son  of 
Man,  of  mankind  in  its  every  generation,  in  its  early 
purpose  and  endless  destiny.  He  had  the  wisdom 
of  Him  who  was  from  eternity.  His  power,  his 
holiness  and  justice,  his  goodness  and  truth,  were 
not  human  attributes,  born  of  the  present,  belong- 
ing to  this  world.  In  their  perfection  was  the 
witness  to  his  eternity.  He  amazed  the  doctors  at 
the  temple  when  he  was  but  a  boy.  He  always 
surprised  men.  He  is  still  the  wonder.  His  glory 
was  disclosed  at  times  ;  but  the  concealment  of  his 
glory  was  a  part  of  his  humiliation.     His  words 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST.  253 

were  his  witness ;  and  liis  silence  was  in  keeping 
with  his  words.  He  displa3^ed  his  might ;  but  the 
withholding  of  his  power  is  as  impressive  as  his 
miracles.  His  commandments  dechired  liis  au- 
thority, while  his  gentleness  and  compassion  and 
patience  marked  kis  control  of  men,  and,  like  liis 
authority,  Avere  not  of  to-day.  He  was  master 
when  he  was  servant,  and  servant  when  he  was 
master.  Among  sinfid  men  he  was  separate  from 
sinners  in  his  holiness.  Between  men  in  their  affairs 
he  was  just,  and  he  declared  his  enduring  justice. 
Tempted  like  men,  his  goodness  and  truth  v/ere 
his  comfort  before  his  Father  when  .he  was  to  die 
for  the  sins  of  the  world.  This  is  a  divine  career. 
Yesterday  and  forever  meet  in  to-day.  Stud}"  his 
life  in  its  details ;  examine  its  majestic  prox)ortions  ; 
note  its  revelations  and  its  concealments ;  mark  its 
spirit  and  its  word  and  deed  ;  trace  it  from  its 
opening  when  the  heavens  were  thronged  with 
angels  and  the  midnight  air  was  filled  with  their 
songs,  to  its  close,  when  the  sun  was  darkened,  and 
angry  men  denounced  him  and  soldiers  cast  lots 
for  liis  raiment,  while  he  died  between  the  male- 
factors, and  on  to  tlie  hour  of  his  resurrection, 
when  he  burst  the  bands  of  death  and  the  grave. 
Continue  with  him  in  a  quiet,  reverent,  grateful, 
loving  sympathy  :  let  him  breathe  upon  you  ;  let 
him  open  his  heart,  and  tell  his  hopes  to  you,  and 
manifest  the  love  which  is  be}ond  all  men's;  walk 
with  him,  rest  with  him,  live  and  love  with  him  ; 


254  CAMBEIDGE  SERMONS, 

let  his  grace  fall  upon  your  life  and  liis  blessing 
become  your  own  experience  ;  and  it  will  become 
clear,  more  and  mare  clear,  that  this  precious  to- 
day is  not  his  life  :  nor  this  with  the  eternity  which 
is  be^^ond.  The  past  is  his.  He  is  the  same  yes- 
terday, and  to-day,  and  forever.  Such  a  life  is  not 
of  the  earth  earthy.  It  does  not  bear  the  super- 
scription of  time.  It  needs  a  past  to  account  for 
it,  and  it  cannot  pass  away.  Nothing  is  simpler  in 
the  presence  of  the  Christ  than  that  which  the 
Gospel  teaches  :  The  Word  was  in  the  beginning ; 
the  Word  became  flesh;  the  Word  shall  be  for- 
ever. He  is,  and  was,  and  is  to  come,  the  Al- 
mighty. To  him  be  the  glory  and  the  dominion 
forever  and  ever. 

This  is  the  Saviour  who  comes  to  us  for  our  homage 
and  trust;  who  asks  not  our  chance  thought,  for  he 
gave  us  no  chance  thought ;  who  requires  the  rul- 
ing purpose  of  our  life,  the  devotion  of  our  thought 
and  work  to  him,  that  as  he  lived  for  us  we  may 
live  unto  him  in  an  unchanging  love,  the  same  in 
the  sanctuary  and  in  the  world,  the  same  in  this 
world  as  in  heaven,  with  our  to-day  making  up 
our  to-morrow. 

In  the  light  of  this  subject,  we  see,  first :  The 
grandeur  of  tliis  redemption  in  which  we  stand. 
It  is  no  thought  of  man  ;  it  is  the  great,  the  end- 
less thought  of  God.  He  has  given  himself  for  us. 
He  has  come  to  us,  carrying  out  his  purpose,  this 
endless  purpose  of  his  grace.     Let  us  not  think  of 


TUE  UNCHANGING  CUEIST.  255 

God  as  changing,  but  as  keeping  us  in  his  unchang- 
ing love. 

Secondly,  in  tlie  persistence  of  our  Lord's  pur- 
poses, and  tlie  constancy  of  his  love,  we  have  great 
comfort.  His  ways  are  long.  His  plans  are  not 
affected  by  the  events  which  break  our  years.  A 
thousand  3'ears  are  one  day  to  him.  Wliat  we 
name  death  is  a  change  in  our  life,  not  in  his  in- 
tention or  promise.  We  are  to  keep  this  in  mind, 
that  we  may  understand  him  and  order  our 
thoughts  wisel3^  One  of  our  greatest  mistakes  is 
in  attempting  to  confine  his  promises  within  the 
brief  spaces  of  our  life.  It  is  not  the  highest  doc- 
trine, but  it  is  a  serviceable  principle,  the  doctrine 
of  waiting.  We  ask  men  to  suspend  their  judg- 
ment till  we  have  completed  the  work  wliich  they 
are  examining ;  and  not  to  accuse  us  of  breaking 
our  word  till  the  time  has  passed  in  which  the 
word  can  be  kept.  Let  us  be  honorable  with  God, 
and  be  still  while  his  work  is  incomplete. 

He  brings  one  into  great  prosperity,  and  the 
man  blesses  him.  He  takes  away  the  riches,  and 
the  man  cries  out  against  God.  "  For  all  life  is 
unroofed,  and  the  tempests  beat  through."  Let 
the  man  be  still,  and  see  what  will  come  after- 
wards. The  plan  has  not  changed.  The  road 
which  led  up  the  mountain  has  gone  down  on  the 
other  side.  When  it  has  passed  through  the  val- 
ley, it  will  ascend  again.  Meantime  there  are 
green  pastures  and  still  waters  in  the  valley,  and 


256  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

the  man  can  look  up  to  the  hills.  Wait  now  and 
see  what  the  Lord  will  do  with  you.  Trust  him 
and  obey,  and  you  shall  be  content. 

A  child  is  born  into  the  world,  and  his  cradle  is 
made  an  altar  where  parental  hearts  offer  their 
sacrifice  of  prayer,  and  say  in  their  confidence, 
"  It  is  God's  child  "  ;  and  tliey  name  him  with  the 
name  of  God.  It  is  right.  The  child  grows  into 
glad  and  hopeful  youth.  He  will  be  a  man  in 
whom  his  parents  will  more  than  live  again,  and 
the  world  will  be  stronger  for  his  coming. 

The  vision  fades.  The  youth  falters,  his  eye 
loses  its  light,  his  hand  its  cunning.  He  has  gone. 
The  Lord  has  taken  him.  The  Lord  has  changed 
his  place,  but  has  not  changed  his  own  design. 
His  plan  has  advanced,  and  borne  the  j-oung  man 
forward  with  it.  In  another  world,  in  other  em- 
ployments, he  will  fulfil  his  career.  Hope  has 
ascended  and  entered  its  eternal  form.  The  plan 
of  the  Lord  for  them  to  whom  the  surprise  and 
disappointment  have  come  has  not  changed.  He 
meant  it  for  good  when  he  gave  them  their 
delight,  and  his  good  thought  continues  with 
them,  and  in  his  time  will  bear  them  on  into  the 
world  whither  their  treasure  has  preceded  them. 
They  will  be  satisfied  when  they  awake  in  the 
perfect  day.  They  will  be  satisfied  here  even  in 
their  sorrow  and  longing,  when  they  can  see  the 
unchanging  wisdom,  the  unalterable  love,  and  the 
endless  purpose  of  their  God. 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST.  257 

Again,  it  is  in  this  unchanging  character  of 
God  that  we  have  the  ground  of  our  hope  of 
eternal  life.  The  original  plan  of  God  regards 
the  guilt  of  men.  When  he  created  the  world  he 
meant  to  redeem  it :  else  he  would  not  have  cre- 
ated it.  When  he  saw  that  all  things  were  very 
good,  he  saw  the  cross  of  Christ.  Sinai  and  Cal- 
vary were  before  him.  He  saw  the  tree  of  life, 
and  the  altar  of  life.  The  sin  of  man  is  not  a 
surprise  to  him,  creating  an  emergency  for  wliich 
he  was  not  prepared.  He  made  men  free,  and 
knew  the  result  in  advance.  He  bestows  a  love 
which  would  last.  Man  destroys  himself,  but 
he  does  not  destroy  the  love  of  God.  He  breaks 
the  commandments,  but  he  does  not  break  the 
purpose  in  which  the  commandments  have  tlieir 
place.  By  his  sin  man  changes  himself,  changes 
the  world,  changes  his  relation  to  God,  changes 
his  destiny.  But  the  love  of  God  remains.  It 
seeks  man  in  his  new  estate.  It  gives  itself  for 
him  in  sacrifice.  If  the  man  will  turn,  will  return 
to  God,  he  will  find  the  love  waiting  to  receive 
him ;  nay,  running  to  him  with  the  kiss  of  wel- 
come and  forgiveness.  Those  are  majestic  words, 
rich  in  comfort  and  hope,  which  are  written  as  the 
Old  Testament  closes:  "I  am  the  Lord,  I  change 
not ;  therefore  ye  sons  of  Jacob  are  not  con- 
sumed." The  Saviour  whom  we  trust  is  not 
born  of  this  present  time.  He  is  the  same  yester- 
day, and  forever,  and  to-day. 


258  CAMBJRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

Hence  we  see  that  there  is  no  need  that  some 
men,  some  saints,  some  glorified  spirit  should  come 
between  us  and  God.  We  can  come  directly  to 
our  Father.  There  is  no  one  nearer  than  he,  no 
one  more  loving.  We  can  bring  our  confession 
and  our  prayer  directly  to  him.  But  does  not  the 
Scripture  say,  "  There  is  one  God,  one  mediator 
also  between  God  and  man,  himself  man,  Christ 
Jesus?"  But  who  is  the  "man  Christ  Jesus?" 
It  is  the  eternal  word  become  flesh;  so  that 
when  I  come  to  him,  I  come  to  God.  Jesus 
said,  "No  one  cometh  unto  the  Father  but  by 
me;"  he  also  said,  "No  man  can  come  to  me 
except  the  Father  which  sent  me  draw  him."  He 
also  said  that  he  could  do  nothing  of  himself :  "  I 
and  the  Father  are  one."  If  I  may  recur  to  my 
illustration,  it  seems  like  this  :  when  the  father 
goes  out  from  his  house  to  seek  his  wayward  son 
and  bring  him  home,  he  is  a  mediator  between  him- 
self in  the  house  and  the  son  in  the  country.  He 
is  not  some  one  who  is  neither  father  nor  son. 
He  is  the  father,  only  he  is  the  father  out  of  doors. 
He  is  the  father  in  sacrifice.  It  is  the  unchanging 
love,  working  in  a  new  condition.  The  God  who 
is  the  mediator  is  the  God  incarnate.  God  in 
Christ  is  a  mediator  between  us  and  God  who  is 
not  in  Christ.  God  here,  teaching,  leading,  help- 
ing, saving,  is  the  mediator  between  us  and  God 
who  has  sent  him  into  the  world  ;  and  he  that 
hath  seen  him  hath  seen  the  Father.     I  do  not 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST.  259 

come  to  Christ  that  I  may  come  to  God ;  I  come 
to  Christ  because  God  is  in  Clirist.  In  him  I 
meet  the  Father.  "  Who  can  forgive  sins  but  God 
alone  ?  "  Yet  "  the  Son  of  man  hath  pow-er  on 
earth  to  forgive  sins."  We  cannot  have  a  divided 
allegiance  of  gratitude  for  our  salvation.  One  is 
the  Saviour,  even  he  who  is  "the  same  3'esterday 
and  to-day  and  forever." 

Wc  see,  finally,  the  reality  of  the  communion  of 
saints.  All  men  can  unite  in  this  love  of  God. 
Separate  as  we  are  by  race,  by  language,  by  taste, 
by  a  thousand  things,  we  can  come  together  in  this. 
Here,  around  the  Lord's  table,  the  yesterday  and 
the  to-morrow  meet  in  the  to-day.  How  shall  those 
born  centuries  ago  understand  this  which  is  before 
us  to-day  in  the  communion  ?  Yet  there  is  nothing 
in  our  life  which  will  be  more  familiar  to  the  saints 
of  the  distant  times  than  this  table  which  is  before 
us.  Let  Abraham  stand  with  us  and  learn  what 
this  meaneth.  But  that  friend  of  God  would  say, 
"  This  is  the  promise  which  was  made  to  me. 
Your  own  records  trace  from  me  the  descent  of 
the  Christ.  I  w\as  told  that  in  me  all  the  famiUes 
of  the  earth  sliould  be  blessed.  I  desired  to  see 
the  day  of  Christ ;  and  I  saw  him  and  was  glad." 
Let  Moses  come  to  sec  Iiere  the  fulfilment  of  the 
sacrifices  which  lie  ordained ;  he  who  on  Hermon 
met  our  Lord  and  talked  with  him  of  his  decease 
which  he  has  accomplished  at  Jerusalem.  Let 
Isaiah  come,  and  unfold  his  own  scroll  and  read  in 


260  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

his  own  words  of  this  whicli  is  here  set  before  us  ; 
of  him  who  was  "  wounded  for  our  transgressions, 
and  bruised  for  our  iniquities."  Let  David  come, 
with  his  antique  garb,  with  his  strangeness  of 
language  and  demeanor,  to  be  surprised  at  many 
things  he  would  see ;  surprised  at  the  plainness  of 
our  house  and  the  simplicity  of  our  worship ;  jet 
needing  but  a  moment  to  bring  him  into  S3mipathy 
with  us  when  his  eyes  fall  upon  the  table.  As 
we  call  it  the  table  of  the  Lord,  and  with  glad 
hearts  gather  around  it,  he  would  say,  ''  I  know 
what  this  means  ;  I  wrote  it  long  ago.  I  blessed 
tlie  Lord  and  sang,  '  Thou  preparest  a  table  before 
me.'  '  They  shall  be  abundantly  satisfied  with 
the  fatness  of  thy  house;  and  thou  shalt  make  them 
drink  of  the  river  of  thy  pleasures.'  " 

But  this  is  the  crucifixion  of  the  Messiah ;  he  of 
whom  you  sung  as  a  king  was  given  to  the  cross. 
"I  said  that  he  should  be  given  to  the  cross.  Did 
I  not  write  of  him,  'I  am  poured  out  like  water, 
and  all  my  bones  are  out  of  joint'.  They  pierced 
my  hands  and  my  feet."  But  when  he  was  upon 
the  cross,  they  mocked  him  and  cried,  "  He  trust- 
eth  on  God,  let  him  deliver  him  now,  if  he  desir- 
eth  him."  "I  said  that  they  should  do  so;  you 
may  read  in  the  twenty-second  Psalm  how  they 
that  mocked  him  cried,  'He  trusted  on  the  Lord 
that  he  would  deliver  him  ;  let  him  deliver  him, 
seeing  he  delighted  in  him.' "  The  soldiers  di- 
vided his  garments  among   them.     "I   said   that 


THE  UNCHANGING  CHRIST.  261 

they  should  do  so  ;  '  They  part  my  garments  among 
them,  and  cast  lots  upon  my  vesture.'  "  Fearful 
was  his  suffering  upon  the  cross,  and  he  cried,  ''  I 
thirst."  "I  said  that  he  should  thirst,"  David 
would  make  answer:  "'My  strengtli  is  dried  up 
like  a  potsherd ;  and  my  tongue  cleaveth  to  my 
jaws ;  and  thou  hast  brought  me  into  the  dust  of 
death.'  "  But  they  gave  him  vinegar  to  drink.  *'  I 
said,  *  They  gave  me  also  gall  for  my  meat,  and 
m  my  thirst  they  gave  me  vinegar  to  drink.'  "  He 
called  upon  God,  as  one  forsaken  in  his  dying. 
''  I  said  that  it  should  be  so  ;  •  that  he  should  cry, 
'  iNIy  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me? 
why  art  thou  so  far  from  helping  me  ?  '  "  But  he 
was  rescued  from  the  grave.  Do  not  think,  David, 
that  he  was  cast  into  the  sepulchre  there  to  remain 
forever.  "  I  said  that  he  should  not  remain  in  the 
grave :  ''My  flesh  also  shall  rest  in  hope  ;  for  thou 
wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in  hell ;  neither  wilt  thou 
suffer  thine  Holy  One  to  see  corruption.  Thou 
wilt  show  me  the  path  of  life;  in  thy  presence  is 
fulness  of  joy ;  at  thy  right  hand  there  are  pleas- 
ures for  evermore'."  Let  David  come.  Let  all 
who  are  able  to  remember  the  atoning  death  of  the 
]\Iessiah,  who  is  the  Son  of  God,  join  in  this  sacra- 
ment. Of  all  the  goodly  fellowship  in  the  house- 
hold of  this  ancient  church,  not  one  will  be  more 
welcome,  not  one  will  be  more  at  home,  than  the 
saints  of  the  elder  time  who  looked  for  the  Messiah 
beforehand  ;  and  wrote  the  story  of  his  redemption 


262  CAMBRIDGE  SERMOJ^S. 

in  promises  and  songs,  whose  meaning  they  little 
knew,  but  whose  meaning  we  have  come  to  see. 

Brethren,  this  is  forever.  We  are  going  on  to 
behold  this  unchanging  Christ  in  fellowship  with 
the  prophets  and  with  the  apostles.  It  is  asked  if 
the  Lord  will  wear  forever  the  body  of  his  humili- 
ation. I  believe  that  is  the  common  thought. 
The  catechism  encourages  us  to  believe  that  ever- 
more in  heaven  we  shall  see  the  nail-prints  and  the 
thorn-prints  and  the  spear-prints.  It  maybe  so  ;  I 
do  not  know.  We  shall  know  soon.  But  I  have 
this  fancy  —  it  is  little  more  than  a  fancy  —  that 
our  Lord  will  not  be  forever  "  mortgaged  to  our 
humanity,"  but  bringing  all  our  humanity  up  to  the 
plane  of  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  will  be  incarnate  in  all 
his  ransomed  ones  ;  and  that  then  we  shall  see 
more  clearly  what  that  word  meaneth  which 
teaches  us  that  the  church  is  ''  the  body  of  Christ." 

Certainly  we  shall  see  him  ;  whatever  form  he 
wears  we  shall  see  him  and  know  him.  His  un- 
changing love,  his  gentleness,  compassion,  forgive- 
ness, these  we  shall  see.  The  Christ  whom  we 
behold  to-morrow  is  the  Christ  of  the  eternal  3^es- 
terday,  the  Christ  of  this  to-day.  "I  am  the 
Alpha  and  the  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last,  the 
beginning  and  the  end."  Thou  art  the  same,  O 
thou  Christ  of  God,  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever. 
Glory  be  unto  thee,  O  Lord,  Saviour  of  men  ;  "  as 
it  was  in  the  beginning,  is  now,  and  ever  shall  be, 
world  without  end.     Amen." 


XIV. 
THE  WAYSIDE  SEED. 


Scripture  Lesson  :  Matthew  xiii :  1-23. 
Text  :  And  when  he  sowed,  some  seeds  fell  by  the  wayside, 
and  the  fowls  came  and  devoured  them  up.    Mattheio  xiii :  4. 

What  though  the  seed  be  cast  by  the  wayside, 
And  the  birds  take  it  —  yet  the  birds  are  fed. 

NOT  ill  vain  had  the  seed  fallen  from  the 
sower's  hand.  It  brought  him  nothing  in  the 
harvest ;  but  the  fowls  were  the  better  for  it.  He 
had  that  comfort,  that  he  had  fed  those  who  were 
not  made  to  sow,  or  reap,  or  gather  into  barns. 
Two  of  them  might  be  sold  for  a  farthing  ;  but 
"  your  Heavenly  Father  feedeth  them."  Then  it 
was  not  too  small  a  thing  for  a  man  to  do.  Their 
title  to  the  seed  was  tlie  same  as  his.  It  rested 
upon  finding  it ;  upon  the  care  of  Him  who  had 
provided  enough  •for  man  and  bird.  The  breeze 
bore  the  grains  where  the  sower  would  not  have 
cast  them.  But  tlie  breeze  Avas  from  above,  and 
the  sower's  toil  and  treasure  were  not  wasted.  It 
miglit  come  to  pass  that  the  birds  should  in  some 
way  repay  his  unintentioned  care  for  them. 

2G3 


264  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS, 

Meantime  it  is  no  slight  honor  and  privilege  to 
be  the  hand  of  the  Almighty  and  to  care  for  his 
smallest  ones,  dropping  his  love,  which  has  taken 
on  the  form  of  seed,  where  they  can  find  it.  The 
other  gentle  words  of  our  Lord,  of  the  sparrows 
which  cannot  fall  without  your  Father,  words  full 
of  comfort,  with  their  generous  revealing  of  the 
Providence  which  watches  over  us,  easily  find  our 
heart,  to  make  us  trustful,  and  patient,  glad  that 
we  know  a  God  so  kind  and  constant,  and  a  Sav- 
iour who  could  bestow  the  strength  of  his  care. 
There  is  a  quiet  evangel  in  the  lessons  of  the  birds 
and  of  Him  who  guards  and  feeds  them.  It  is 
good  to  read  together  all  wdiich  our  Lord  said 
about  them.  It  is  good  to  find  in  this  morning's 
parable  that  we  may  share  with  God  this  ministry 
of  life,  and  be  his  visible  Providence ;  that  a  part 
of  his  thought  and  purpose  and  goodness  is  re- 
vealed by  us  who  have  this  fellowship  with  God, 
and  manifest  his  nature ;  that  his  kindness  can 
overflow  our  hands  like 

Kivers,  to  whose  falls 
Melodious  birds  sing  madrigals. 

It  is  happening  to  us  all  to  repeat  this  part  of 
our  Lord's  parable.  We  are  sowing  as  we  go  on. 
Some  seed  falls  by  the  wayside.  We  have  our 
purposes,  and  invest  our  efforts  in  tliem,  and  look 
for  a  return  which  shall  make  us  richer.  Our 
mind  is  on  the  harvest  as  we   scatter   the   seed. 


THE  WA  YSIDE  SEED.  265 

But  just  beyond  our  plan,  and  aside  from  our 
thought,  our  endeavor  falls.  There  is  no  harvest, 
or  the  ingathering  is  scant.  Still  something  has 
been  done  which  was  worth  the  doing.  At  least 
the  birds  have  been  fed.  For  example,  a  man  in- 
vests his  money  in  a  factory,  and  means  to  increase 
his  property  by  the  investment.  The  year  ends 
and  lie  has  no  more  than  when  the  year  began. 
He  has  no  more,  but  the  birds  have  had  more. 
He  has  lived,  and  he  has  given  bread  to  those  who 
have  toiled  for  him,  furnished  their  homes,  taught 
their  children,  preserved  them  for  better  days. 

So  in  all  kinds  of  business.  There  may  be 
times  when  the  pecuniary  return  is  very  small, 
even  less  than  nothing,  while  yet  we  have  lived 
upon  our  industry,  and  others  have  been  supported 
by  the  work  ;  saved  from  hunger  and  want ;  kept 
and  brought  up  to  be  useful  in  the  world  by  the 
wayside  seed.  Every  life  has  this  unintentioned 
usefulness.  If  we  do  our  work  well,  it  cannot  be 
but  that  some  one  will  be  the  better  off.  The  end 
which  we  seek  may  not  be  gained,  but  these  inci- 
dental benefits  will  not  be  wanting.  These  may 
be  greater  in  real  worth  than  the  things  we  sought. 
Just  as  a  river  may  do  more  good  by  overflowing 
its  banks  and  watering  the  adjacent  meadows  than 
by  sending  its  swift  currents  into  the  deep  sea.  It 
was  in  this  wayside  flowing  that  the  bread  cast 
upon  the  waters  came  back  after  many  days  ;  not 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Nile,  but  on  the  fields  over 


2m  CAMBBIDGE  SEBMONS. 

which  it  had  passed  incidentally,  the  bread  was 
found.  In  the  family  Ave  may  find  this  side  influ- 
ence ;  the  highest  parental  hopes  may  not  be  real- 
ized, but  something  will  come  from  the  home  life. 
In  the  school,  the  pupil  may  not  prove  an  apt 
scholar  in  his  regular  lessons,  while  yet  he  is  learn- 
ing other  lessons  by  the  way.  In  our  philanthropy 
we  may  not  see  our  desire  fulfilled,  and  yet  we 
may  be  doing  good  in  some  different  method. 

In  our  efforts  for  our  personal  good  we  may  not 
attain  to  our  ideal  and  become  what  we  meant, 
but  we  maybe  growing  on  every  side  ;  building  up 
our  character,  increasing  in  all  manly  grace  and 
strength,  proving  our  right  to  live.  It  is  possible 
that  in  all  these  ways  we  may  secure  better  results 
than  we  sought,  albeit  they  be  not  the  same.  Per- 
haps feeding  the  birds  may  be  better  than  filling 
our  barns. 

Let  us  take  this  comfort  as  wx  go  on.  We  have 
need  of  encouragement.  We  lay  out  our  work 
somewhat  in  the  dark,  and  plan  at  a  venture.  In 
few  lives  is  the  accomplishment  like  the  intention. 
In  most  lives  it  seems  less.  We  come  to  middle 
life,  and  then  to  old  age,  with  a  feeling  of  discon- 
tent. How  often  we  say,  how  deeply  we  feel,  that 
life  has  been  a  failure.  The  years  of  promise  have 
come  and  gone,  and  what  is  there  to  show  for 
them  ?  What  have  we  done  which  needed  so 
much  time  ?  It  will  be  some  solace,  and  we  have 
a  title  to  it,  that  we  have  done  many  side  things ; 


TUE  WAYSIDE  SEED.  267 

have  touched  other  lives ;  have  helped  to  keep  the 
family,  the  Church,  and  society  ;  have  dropped 
good  words,  given  money,  bestowed  sympathy, 
visited  the  sick,  lent  a  helping  hand,  while  our 
main  work  has  been  running  on  witliout  accom- 
plishing all  Ave  designed.  Tlie  birds  have  been  fed, 
and  the  birds  are  our  Father's,  and  the  seed  was 
his. 

Xot  all  who  seem  to  fail,  have  failed  indeed. 

Our  lives  are  intertwined.  We  dwell  together 
and  work  in  company.  No  life  moves  on  by 
itself,  complete  in  its  own  bounds.  Life  is  not  a 
sluggish  canal,  but  a  rapid  stream  which  brings 
into  its  current  the  mountain  brooks  and  the 
branches  which  water  the  meadows,  and  perhaps 
becomes  itself  the  branch  of  a  large  river.  It  is  a 
matter  of  opinion  which  is  the  largest  river  in 
our  land.  It  would  be  more  difficult  to  determine 
which  is  the  most  useful  stream,  or  at  what  point 
any  one  is  of  most  service. 

It  is  not  easy  to  measure  lives,  or  the  parts  of 
a  life.  A  great  life  may  take  its  character  more 
from  some  undesigned  influence,  than  from  the 
effort  which  has  sought  to  control  it.  A  life  may 
do  more  by  turning  the  course  of  another  life  which 
it  has  not  meant  to  affect  than  it  does  with  design 
in  the  steady  round  of  its  vocation.  If  Ave  could 
all  speak,  doubtless  many  Avould  acknowledge 
this  indebtedness  to  men  AAdio  did  not  knoAV  that 


268  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS. 

they  were  helping  them.  Perhaps  some  would 
confess  that  they  have  been  most  influenced  by 
those  who  have  not  tried  to  order  their  ways  for 
them.  Wliat  a  blessed  thing  it  is  that  the  Lord 
who  knows  all  we  do  will  reward  those  who 
do  good  when  they  do  not  know  that  they  are 
doing  it ! 

Would  it  do  to  leave  all  things  to  this  inci- 
dental working;  simply  to  go  our  way  and  be 
busy,  and  believe  that,  wittingly  or  unwittingly, 
we  are  doing  all  the  good  which  can  be  required 
of  us  ?  Very  much  is  said  of  unconscious  influ- 
ence, and  said  with  truth.  Shall  we,  then,  simply 
pursue  our  daily  work,  and  think  that  we  are 
helping  the  world  on  without  any  special  care 
or  pains  of  ours? 

It  might  be  answered  that  the  world  is  not  con- 
tent with  our  unconscious  influence  and  incidental 
benevolence,  but  is  very  sure  to  demand  our  atten- 
tion and  to  insist  on  decided  and  deliberate 
action.  It  intrudes  itself  into  our  homes, 
and  states  its  wants  with  persistent  itera- 
tion. The  birds  may  be  trusted  to  come  to  us. 
If  the  seed  is  not  on  the  ground,  they  will  flutter 
about  the  granary  and  even  peck  at  our  closed 
hand.  Who  shall  say  it  is  not  their  right? 
Whence  comes  the  instinct  of  the  bird,  of  the 
man  ?  Larger  barns  have  less  warrant  in  the 
Gospel  than  larger  doors  for  small  barns. 

The    Church   is   constantly   calling    for   direct 


THE  WAYSIDE  SEED.  269 

personal  service.  With  a  definite  work  to  do 
she  summons  us  to  thoughtful  devotion.  She 
asks  of  all  men  time  and  presence  and  effort. 
Would  it  not  be  as  well  for  the  Church  to  allow 
men  to  work  by  themselves,  and  to  do  good 
incidentally;  if  not  by  divine  methods,  yet  by 
methods  of  their  own  ;  if  not  in  the  field,  yet  along 
the  wayside?  I  think  that  the  Church  will  con- 
sent to  this  as  soon  as  men  in  their  usual  occu- 
pations will  agree  to  it ;  when  they  will  be  satis- 
fied with  the  wayside  results  ;  when  they  will 
build  factories  to  support  the  workmen,  and  send 
out  ships  for  the  good  of  the  sailors,  and  pui'sue 
their  business  in  the  interest  of  their  clerks,  and 
keep  up  their  houses  that  the  servants  may  have 
homes,  and  be  satisfied  though  they  get  no  other 
return  for  their  investments ;  when  they  will  care 
nothing  for  the  harvest,  so  that  the  birds  are  fed  ; 
when  it  is  a  general  benevolence  and  not  a  desire 
for  a  fair  personal  advantage  which  is  the  main- 
spring of  their  exertion  ;  and  good  done  is  held 
equivalent  to  gain  secured;  then,  I  think,  the 
Church  will  be  ready  to  have  men  spend  their 
strength  outside  of  her  field,  and  do  nothing  in 
her  pressing  work ;  to  take  what  she  can  find  as 
she  waits  by  the  wayside  ;  to  receive  the  leisure 
moments,  and  the  money  which  is  not  otherwise 
bestowed,  and  the  thoucrht  wliich  cannot  be  more 
pleasantly  employed  —  content  while  she  fails  in 
her  direct  work,  because  she  is  doing  good  inci- 


270  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

dentally.  Till  others  agree  to  this  method,  she 
will  continue  to  ask  that  religious  service  be  made 
an  essential  part  of  the  leading  design  of  life. 

It  is  evident  that  if  the  waj^side  work  is  merely 
accidental,  there  is  no  merit  in  it.  The  birds  are 
gainers,  and  the  man  a  loser.  If  v/e  have  done  things 
reluctantly,  begrudging  the  fowls  the  seed  they 
bore  awa}^,  we  have  little  right  to  congratulate 
ourselves  upon  that  which  has  been  accomplished. 
Still,  there  is  pleasure  in  thinking  that  we  have 
done  good  in  spite  of  ourselves,  and  we  may  make 
the  good  our  own  by  rejoicing  in  it  after  the  deed. 
But  wdiat  Ave  ought  to  do  is  to  take  this  wayside 
work  into  our  original  plan  ;  to  mean  to  do  good 
incidentally,  beyond  the  main  track  of  life.  When 
we  sow  the  fields  for  the  harvest  we  ought  to 
throw  some  seed  to  the  birds,  and  to  save  seed 
and  time  for  this. 

Thyself  and  thy  belongings 
Are  not  thine  own  so  proper,  as  to  waste 
Thyself  upon  thy  virtues,  they  on  thee. 
Heaven  doth  with  us  as  we  with  torches  do, 
Not  light  them  for  themselves  ;  for  if  our  virtues 
Did  not  go  forth  of  us,  'twere  all  alike 
As  if  we  had  them  not. 

All  things  come  in  fittingly  when  the  life  is 
sound  and  true.  The  liighest  end  a  man  can  serve 
is  to  please  God.  To  this  he  should  be  always 
and  in  all  things  devoted.  He  can  do  for  himself 
and  for  men  and  birds  nothing  better   than   to 


TUE  WAYSIDE  SEED.  271 

please  God.  In  his  Providence  every  way  has  its 
wayside.  If  we  cannot  spend  all  our  time  in 
giving  cups  of  water  to  the  thirsty,  and  befriending 
the  friendless,  we  can  spend  a  part  of  our  time  in 
such  emploj^ment.  The  Master  gives  us  spare 
hours  which  belong  in  the  very  substance  of  our  life, 
and  are  accepted  by  Him  whose  are  the  birds.  In 
all  the  stress  of  common  life  we  have  now  and 
then  a  holiday.  It  Avould  indeed  be  hard  if  religion 
gave  us  no  leisure  for  anything  beyond  saying  our 
prayers  and  saving  our  souls.  We  shall  do  most  for 
ourselves  when  we  have  others  in  our  plans.  There 
is  nothing  better  for  the  poor  than  that  our  care  for 
them  lie  within  a  purpose  which  moves  on  to  him 
who  was  rich  and  for  the  poor's  sake  became  poor. 

He  has  taught  us  usefulness  as  a  vital  part  of 
piety.  He  has  made  us  with  different  measures  of 
ability  that  all  kinds  of  good  service  may  be  done. 
Some  have  five  talents  and  some  one.  This  is  not 
chance.  In  its  own  place  the  one  is  as  five,  for  it 
is  complete.     Out  of  their  place  the  five  are  as  one. 

In  some  places  the  man  of  stout  arm  is  better 
than  he  of  strong  brain.  The  owner  of  a  thousand 
acres  might  not  feed  the  birds  so  well  as  a  farmer's 
boy.  And  the  birds  must  be  fed.  So  God  makes 
farmers'  boys.  They  may  own  the  acres  at  last. 
The  final  honors  and  rewards  will  be  properly 
bestowed. 

Spirits  are  not  finely  touched 
But  to  fine  issues. 


272  CAMBRIDGE  SEEMONS. 

He  who  in  the  parable  did  not  count  the  hours 
of  work  when  he  paid  the  laborers  may  not  make 
much  account  of  talents  in  the  last  award.  Every 
good  and  faithful  servant  shall  be  satisfied  when 
he  enters  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord.  It  is  well  to 
know  what  we  can  do  best  and  are  sent  to  do,  and 
to  do  it  willingly  unto  the  Lord.  When  Brunelles- 
chi  surprised  and  delighted  his  rival  with  the 
crucifix  which  he  had  carved,  Donatello  frankly 
exclaimed,  "  I  see  truly  that  you  are  made  for 
Christ's,  and  my  art  is  fit  for  nothing  more  than 
peasants."  The  happy  thing  is,  that  both  could 
work  for  Christ. 

It  is  essential  that  life  be  given  to  the  noblest 
end ;  man  can  do  something  better  than  to  feed 
birds,  or  rather  he  can  include  that  in  a  greater 
work.  This  he  must  do.  Nothing  is  large  enough 
for  a  man  except  religion.  This  contains  virtue 
and  the  virtues.  Love,  not  labor,  is  the  fulfilling 
of  the  law.  The  faith  which  saves  is  a  faith  which 
works.  We  want  the  revolving  wheel,  but  we 
want  also  the  stream  behind  it  and  the  loom  before 
it.  Religion  moving  the  life  to  a  holy  end  makes 
a  manly  character,  which  is  free  and  eternal. 

Put  the  best  seed  in  the  best  ground  for  Christ's 
sake — your  best  seed  in  your  best  ground —  and 
the  harvest  will  come,  and  there  will  be  seed  by 
the  wayside  for  the  birds.  More  will  come  to  them, 
take  the  years  together,  than  if  you  thought  only 
of  the  birds,  and  cast  the  seed  only  at  the  roadside. 


THE  Vr AY  SIDE  SEED.  273 

AVe  must  secure  good  seed,  and  sow  it  carefully, 
and  gather  in  prudently,  or  soon  there  will  be  no 
grain  for  either  man  or  bird.  The  best  material 
for  usefulness  God  furnishes  to  the  obedient.  We 
need  broad  and  long  views,  if  we  are  to  do  our 
work  and  bless  the  world.  The  greatest  interest 
should  not  be  forgotten  because  smaller  ones  are 
close  at  hand.  It  is  neither  just  nor  kind  ;  neither 
reverent  nor  benevolent.  One  of  our  wise  men 
said  ill  the  college  chapel,  "  My  friends,  as  a  gen- 
eral rule  we  are  not  wont  to  trifle  with  our  important 
temporal  interests  ;  let  us  not  trifle  with  our  moral 
and  religious  interests  merely  because  they  are 
eternal."  We  are  able  to  bring  to  the  illus- 
trating of  this  theme  that  life  which  here,  with 
us,  has  fulfilled  its  course  and  met  with  its  tran- 
sition. 

A  good  and  useful  man  has  been  taken  from 
us.*  You  will  say  that  it  is  right  to  commend  a 
career  like  his ;  and  the  more  fitting  that  it  was 
not  remote  from  the  opportunities  of  other  men. 
It  is  well  that  our  young  men  should  see  the 
reward  which  crowns  fidelity,  honesty,  industry, 
economy ;  which  from  a  small  beginning  makes  a 
large  ending.  It  is  well  that  bus}^  men  should  see 
liow  one  can  be  very  busy  and  very  successful, 
and  still  maintain  his  interest  in  the  church  which 
holds  his  vows,  and  reserve  time  for  its  service  of 
prayer  and  devout  counsel.     His  works  here  were 

*  Mr.  E.  r.  Whitman. 


274  CAMBBIBGE  SEE3I0NS. 

on  a  liberal  scale,  and  stand  conspicuons  in  the 
day  long  to  be  remembered  within  these  gates, 
the  day  of  our  great  rejoicing.  The  initials  of  his 
name  are  cut  on  yonder  capital.  Yet  not  in  such 
special,  deliberate  acts  of  generosity  only,  but  in  the 
dail}^,  unrecorded  deeds  which  enrich  a  life,  did  he 
abound.  With  a  wise  foresight  and  a  clear  pur- 
pose, he  cast  good  seed  into  good  furrows,  and  the 
harvest  came  in  a  hundred-fold.  But  he  never 
forgot  the  birds.  The  wayside  was  parallel  to  the 
furrows,  and  some  seed  fell  there.  For  many  a 
year  the  birds  will  sing  sweetly  above  his  grave. 
"Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done  it  unto  one  of  the 
least  of  these" —  He  did  it  to  the  least,  and  to 
the  most.  He  rests;  but  his  works  follow  in  the 
path  and  along  the  wayside  where  he  trod.  "  Be- 
hold a  sower  went  forth  to  sow :  Whatsoever  a 
man  sowetli  that  shall  he  also  reap." 

This  parable  of  the  sower  our  Lord  applied  to 
himself  and  his  own  work.  "  He  that  soweth  the 
good  seed  is  the  Son  of  Man."  His  reference  to  the 
seed  by  the  wayside  was  not  directly  for  the  pur- 
pose to  which  it  has  been  applied  this  morning. 
Yet  it  was  preeminently  true  of  his  life  that  it  had 
its  twofold  influence,  the  direct  and  the  incidental. 
He  came  with  a  large  and  divine  intent ;  with  one 
work  to  be  done  in  one  way.  It  was  a  very  broad 
work.  He  fdled  all  the  land  with  blessing.  He 
healed  the  sick  and  raised  the  dead.  He  taught 
the  noblest  principles  of  conduct  and  exemplified 


THE  WAYSIDE  SEED.  275 

tliem  in  Ins  own  life.  He  sent  tlie  benison  of  his 
presence  into  conntless  homes,  and  gave  his  bene- 
diction to  more  children  than  he  folded  in  his 
arms.  He  tanglit  virtue  to  the  world.  He 
enriched  humanity  by  his  incarnation.  The  glis- 
tening of  liis  garments  has  made  the  earth  briglit. 
"Take  that  name  out  of  the  world,"  said  Theodore 
Parker,  "that  great  character  out  of  the  Avorld,  and 
all  its  influence,  and  what  should  we  be  ?  I  speak 
within  bounds  when  I  say  he  has  advanced  the 
civilization  of  the  world  at  least  a  thousand  years." 
He  did  more  than  that.  He  made  our  civilization, 
which  before  liim  gave  no  sign  of  even  being.  He 
makes  everything  live  whither  he  comes.  The 
blessings  which  crowd  and  crown  our  lives  bear 
the  image  and  superscription  of  the  Christ.  Do 
we  think  of  it,  that  liberty  and  peace  and  home ; 
intelligence,  manhood,  happiness,  are  not  Saxon, 
but  Clu'istian? 

Jerusalem  is  the  mother  of  us  all.  Above  Beth- 
lehem our  fathers  saw  the  great  liglit.  From  the 
land  in  which  the  Christ  lived  and  tauglit,  and 
wrouHit  his  miracles,  and  c^avc  himself  as  the  Re- 
deemer  of  men,  has  come  the  light  which  is  light- 
ing the  world.  This  is  history.  He  wlio  traces 
liberty  and  humanity  to  their  birthplace  comes  to 
what  was  indeed  the  Land  of  Promise.  The  lan- 
guage of  the  prophet  lias  been,  is  being,  fulfilled 
in  the  advance  of  a  pure  Christianit}'.  "  And  it 
shall  come  to  pass,  that  everything  that   livetli, 


276  CAMBBIDGE  SERMONS. 

which  moveth,  whithersoever  the  rivers  shall  come, 
shall  live."  The  Christ  made,  and  is  making,  into 
a  living  and  divine  reality,  the  words  of  the  prophet 
which  he  read  in  the  synagogue  of  Nazareth,  with 
the  spirit  of  the  Lord  upon  him,  and  good  tidings 
flowing  from  his  lips. 

It  might  seem  that  this  work  was  enough  for  the 
Son  of  Man. .  Let  him  accomplish  this  and  receive 
the  homage  of  the  world  !  But  we  know  from  his 
own  lips  that  it  was  not  for  this  he  came  into  the 
world.  This  is  the  birds'  portion ;  the  seed  by  the 
wayside.  All  this  is  within  that  which  is  greater. 
He  came  that  men  might  have  life,  and  have  life 
more  abundantly.  He  worked  wonders,  and  his 
benign  influence  lias  never  left  the  world.  But  his 
eye  and  his  heart  have  been  always  on  something 
beyond'.  Standing  among  his  miracles,  he  said  :  "  I 
have  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with  ;  and  how  am 
I  straitened  till  it  be  accomplished."  It  was  to  re- 
deem men  that  he  came  ;  to  gi\^  his  life  a  ransom 
for  many.  "  Christ  Jesus  came  into  the  world  to 
save  sinners."  Prophets  and  apostles,  men  like 
Moses  and  Joshua,  like  Paul  and  John ;  or  if  men 
failed,  angels  could  have  taught  the  world,  set  a 
pure  example,  made  homes  and  schools  and 
churches ;  brought  liberty  and  culture.  This 
needed  not  the  incarnation  of  God,  the  loug  humil- 
iation, the  sacrifice  on  Calvary.  Angels  might 
bring  down  the  celestial  torches,  and  change  night 
into  day.     But  an  archangel  could  not  redeem  a 


THE  WAYSIDE  SEED.  277 

soul ;  could  not  purchase  pardon  by  the  offering  of 
liimself;  could  not  loose  llic  bands  of  a  double 
death,  and  open  before  the  guilty  the  gates  of  im- 
mortality. An  angel  could  teach  men ;  only 
Christ  could  die  for  men.  Only  he  could  be  the 
Redeemer,  the  Saviour,  the  i\Iediator.  For  this 
he  bowed  the  heavens  and  came  down  ;  for  this  he 
walked  the  weary  way  to  his  cross  and  sepulchre. 
He  fed  the  birds  as  he  passed  on  ;  but  he  passed 
on,  for  he  had  come  to  die,  and  he  pressed  forward 
to  that.  He  began  to  tell  his  disciples  that  he 
should  suffer  and  be  killed,  and  one  rebuked  him  : 
'^  Be  it  far  from  thee.  Lord ;  this  shall  not  be 
unto  thee."  He  turned  to  that  man  and  said, 
''  Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan  :  thou  art  an  offence 
unto  me :  for  thou  savorest  not  the  things  that  be 
of  God." 

The  thought,  the  love,  the  sacrifice,  blessed  men 
here,  but  ran  far  out  through  the  world  and  beyond 
it ;  beyond  the  bounds  of  time  ;  beyond  the  burn- 
ing of  the  earth,  and  the  flaming  heavens  shrivel- 
ing '^ike  a  parched  scroll ;  "  into  the  new  heaven 
and  the  new  earth,  and  adown  the  endless  ages ; 
and  the  blessings  which  he  came  to  make  for  men, 
beginning  here,  were  to  be  there  forever.  This  is 
the  work  of  Christ  in  the  world :  this  eternal  re- 
demption, the  bestowment  of  unceasing  mercies 
upon  men,  by  his  grace  the  sons  and  heirs  of  God. 

It  is  in  comparison  to  this,  the  real  intent, 
the  grand  accomplishment,  that  his  other  work, 


278  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

magnificent  and  gracious  as  it  is,  beyond  all 
men's,  I  have  ventured  to  call  incidental,  ser- 
vice by  the  way,  the  feeding  of  the  birds.  And 
I  believe  that  in  saying  this  I  have  the  mind  of 
Christ.  One  thing  is  certain,  that  what  he 
enjoined  upon  us  especially  to  remember,  and 
even  embodied  in  a  sacrament  that  we  might  keep 
it  in  constant  and  clear  remembrance,  was — not 
his  miracles,  his  teachings,  his  example ;  but  this 
—  his  redemption  of  the  world  by  the  offering  up  of 
himself,  the  Lamb  of  God.  We  treasure  his  words, 
and  we  repeat  his  life ;  but  he  said,  "  Except  ye 
eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son  of  Man  and  drink  his  blood, 
ye  have  no  life  in  you." 

I  might  leave  this  subject  to  suggest  its  own 
lessons.  Yet  suffer  me  to  call  to  your  mind  two 
practical  thoughts  :  The  first  is,  that  we  must  be 
careful  fully  to  teach  the  reality  of  his  work.  His 
one  work,  his  inclusive  work,  we  must  show  to 
men.  We  must  constantly  keep  in  mind  for  what 
he  came  into  the  world.  All  that  was  related  to 
this  should  be  taught  so  far  as  we  have  oppor- 
tunity; but  the  chief  work  must  be  told,  illus- 
trated, enforced,  till  it  becomes  a  part  of  the  life 
and  character  winch  we  are  shaping.  The  geog- 
raphy of  Palestine  is  of  small  account  unless  we 
become  followers  of  Him  who  brightened  snowy 
Hermon  with  his  presence,  honored  Nazareth  and 
Capernaum  by  his  residence,  hallowed  Bethlehem 
and  Bethany,  and  was  at  Jerusalem  one  greater 


THE  WA  YSIDE  SEED.  279 

tlian  the  Temple.  The  miracles  of  Christ  have  but  a 
transient  use  unless  through  them  we  see  him  who 
by  these  signs  showed  Himself  able  to  do  greater 
things ;  Avho  is  himself  the  wonder  of  the  ages ;  in 
whose  works  among  men  there  is  no  marvel  equal 
to  his  incarnation  and  resurrection  ;  no  might  to  be 
compared  with  the  strength  of  his  love.  We 
shall  repeat  his  precepts  and  enjoin  obedience. 
We  shall  describe  the  beauty  and  purity  of  his 
life,  till  words  fail  us.  We  shall  say  that  life  is  to 
be  saved  by  losing  it,  and  that  our  highest  honor 
is  in  ministering  to  others.  While  time  lasts  we 
shall  repeat  these  things.  When  philosophy  has 
grown  weary  of  teaching  virtue,  the  Church  will 
continue  her  lessons,  ceasing  not  before  Christ 
comes  again.  But  in  all  this  we  have  not  taught 
Christ  himself.  He  was  more  than  this.  He  did 
more  than  this.  He  is  the  Saviour,  and  it  is  Christ 
the  Saviour  whom  we  must  see  and  show.  It  is 
faith  in  him,  and  love  for  him,  which  we  must 
enjoin,  and  the  life  lived  b}^  faith  and  love. 

Let  me  take  counsel  with  you,  for  you  know 
men.  I  never  speak  to  a  man  who  is  not  before 
long  to  quit  the  world  and  find  the  judgment. 
What  shall  I  say  to  men  ?  Is  it  incidental  or  essen- 
tial mercy  wliich  will  serve  them  now  and  to  the 
end?  Sometimes  the  issue  is  imminent.  I 
stand  at  the  bedside  of  a  dying  man.  His  min- 
utes are  few,  and  the  minister's  words  must  be 
brief.     They   must  be   true   words,   fitly  spoken. 


280  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

The  fading  tapestry  of  a  human  life  needs  apples 
of  gold.  Shall  I  read  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount 
to  his  cold,  dull  ears,  or  answer  the  pleading  of 
his  e3'^es  with  maxims  of  morality  ?  Should  I  not 
rather  follow  the  divine  example,  and  turn  the 
anxious  gaze  to  God  in  penitence  and  love,  putting 
upon  his  faltering  lips  the  cry  of  his  brother  pub- 
lican—  "  God  be  merciful  " —  "be  merciful  to  me?  " 
Should  I  not  teach  him  another  pra^^er,  which 
brought  its  answer  of  mercy  — ''  Lord  remember 
me  ?  "  From  tlie  broken  and  contrite  heart  let  these 
petitions  rise,  with  mind  and  heart  clinging  to  him 
who  taught  them  to  men.  If  he  is  saved  it  is 
Christ  himself  who  saves  him ;  who  died  for  him 
—  died  for  him. 

The  man  who  suffered  at  our  Saviour's  side,  who 
from  the  cross  followed  him  that  day  into  Para- 
dise, had  heard  little  in  his  wild  career  of  the 
teachings  of  Jesus,  so  pure  and  blessed  ;  had  seen, 
it  may  be,  not  one  of  his  works  of  mercy;  but  in 
that  awful  moment  he  saw  Christ ;  he  knew  his 
righteousness;  he  proclaimed  his  royalty;  he  com- 
mitted himself  to  him;  he  lifted  up  his  voice  in 
confession, —  and  it  was  the  only  voice  there  which 
did  confess  him, —  and  the  lost  sheep,  bruised,  and 
torn,  and  bleeding,  died  on  the  Shepherd's  shoulder 
and  found  life.  The  Christ  whom  he  knew,  and  the 
Christ  whom  he  trusted,  the  Christ  who  saved, 
was  in  literal  truth  Christ  crucified.  Wherever 
this  Gospel  is  preached,  and  this  story  is  told  of  a 


TUE  WAYSIDE  SEED.  281 

man  who  was  saved,  the  world  will  see  that  it  was 
Christ  on  the  cross  who  saved  ;  it  was  tlie  hands 
that  were  made  strong  by  the  nails  whicli  opened 
the  celestial  gates  to  a  ransomed  soul,  who  fled 
from  the  body  of  death  into  tlie  embrace  of  life. 
The  other  thouG^ht  is  kindred  to  this.  We  are  to 
have  the  man's  portion  of  Christ's  words ;  not  the 
birds'  alone.  The  incidental  benefits  of  our  Lord's 
life  are  too  great  for  us  ;  arQ  not  great  enough  for 
us,  seeing  that  he  is  Christ.  It  is  not  the  desert 
of  the  receiver,  but  the  grace  of  the  giver,  which 
makes  the  gift.  We  should  be  grateful  for  the 
crumbs  ;  yet  he  calls  us  to  the  feast.  We  are  not 
birds  who  must  needs  take  what  we  chance  to  And, 
but  God's  children,  in  liis  house,  in  his  love,  way- 
ward and  hungry,  but  his  children  still ;  and  we 
can  choose  and  take  his  best  gifts.  If  we  open 
our  heart  under  the  sower's  hand  the  choicest 
wheat  will  fall  and  keep  falling  upon  us.  The 
wisdom  of  Christ  was  great  in  his  parables  ;  it  was 
at  its  height  in  his  death.  His  power  was  won- 
derful in  his  miracles  ;  it  was  at  its  best  in  his 
crucifixion.  His  grace  was  large  in  his  patience, 
his  comfort,  his  S3'mpathy,  his  help.  It  was 
boundless  when  he  gave  himself  to  the  cross  for 
our  sake.  We  can  have  him  at  his  best ;  his 
wisest  wisdom,  liis  strongest  strength,  his  divin- 
est  grace.  The  larger  holds  the  large ;  Christ 
redeeming  is  Christ  teaching,  healing,  blessing, 
enlarged.      We  can  have  the  best  and  the  whole, 


282  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

the  Christ  who  is  enthroned  above,  the  temple  and 
the  liglit  of  heaven ;  the  Toyal  Lamb,  the  Redeemer- 
King.  To  Him  must  we  look;  to  the  real  Saviour, 
as  he  really  saves.  When  we  have  found  him  we 
have  found  life.  From  the  good  ground  we  are 
shall  spring  up  the  good  seed  he  sows,  and  our  life 
shall  be  fruitful;  a  delight  to  us,  a  gladness  to  the 
world,  a  glory  to  him. 

Thus  once  again  the  sower  sows  the  seed.  May 
the  birds  be  the  richer  for  it  —  the  birds  and  the 
men. 


XV. 

TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF. 


Scripture  Lessor  :  I.  Cor.  i:  17-31. 

Text  :  By  manifestation  of  the  truth  commending  ourselves 
to  every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God.     11.  Cor.  iv :  2. 

THIS  was  a  noble  confidence.  It  was  a  personal 
confidence.  This  man,  called  to  do  a  work 
whicli  before  his  time  had  not  been  done  in  the 
world,  had  that  assurance  which  comes  from  the  be- 
lief that  one  is  doing  the  will  of  God,  and  the  addi- 
tional conviction  that  he  is  also  approving  himself 
to  men  ;  that  lie  is  not  only  serving  God,  but  serv- 
ing men ;  that  he  has  the  commendation  of  every 
man's  conscience,  when  that  conscience  is  in  the 
presence  of  God.  ^Manifestly  it  was  upon  this  that 
this  man  must  rely  in  his  work.  He  could  not 
compel  men  ;  he  had  no  devices  by  which  he  could 
attract  them.  He  could  simply  tell  them  the  truth 
as  it  was  committed  to  him.  If  it  did  not  com- 
mend itself  to  their  consciences,  it  was  spoken  in 
vain.  If  he  had  been  willing  by  any  other  meth- 
ods to  attract  them  —  for  doubtless  he  might  have 


284  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS, 

gathered  a  school  if  he  would,  and  have  gained 
many  follo\Yers  —  still  he  would  not  have  accom- 
plished his  purpose  unless  he  had  gained  the  con- 
science of  those  whom  he  taught,  because  his  work 
must  needs  be  done  in  the  hearts  of  men,  where 
their  motives,  and  purposes,  and  character  are  made 
up. 

The  apostle  is  speaking  here  in  words  of  great 
strength,  which  suggest  two  lines  of  eomimenda- 
tion.  In  the  first  place,  the  gospel  itself,  the  sub- 
stance of  it,  commends  itself  to  every  man's  con- 
science. Secondly,  in  its  method,  in  the  manner 
of  its  presentation,  the  gospel  commends  itself  to 
the  consciences  of  men.  It  is  upon  this  latter  fact 
rather  than  upon  the  former,  that  I  shall  speak 
to  you  this  morning ;  that  the  method  of  the  gos- 
pel commends  itself  to  every  man's  conscience, 
when  that  conscience  is  face  to  face  with  God. 

There  are  three  grand  words  here,  around  which 
the  life  of  this  man  formed  itself.  God,  con- 
science, truth;  God  above,  conscience  within,  truth 
between,  touching  God  on  the  upper  side  of  it ; 
touching  man  on  the  lower  side  of  it,  and 
in  this  trinity  of  God,  conscience,  truth,  God's 
purposes  are  accomplished  in  the  world,  and  man's 
redemption  is  secured. 

What  do  we  mean  by  the  gospel  ?  It  is  briefly 
expressed  in  that  evangel  which  lies  within  the 
evangel :  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his 
Son."     Upon  this  our  faith  and  our  preaching  rest. 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF.  285 

The  design  of  the  gospel  is  so  to  control  men's 
lives  and  thoughts  that  they  shall  be  in  right 
relations  with  God;  that  it  shall  be  as  true 
that  they  are  God's  children  as  that  he  is 
their  father ;  that  they  shall  be  loving  and 
obedient  children,  and  shall  receive  liis  continual 
care  and  all  the  blessings  of  his  affection  ;  and  the 
manner  in  wliich  this  truth  comes  to  us  commends 
itself  to  the  conscience  of  men. 

Let  me  ask  j^ou,  then,  to  notice  these  things.  In 
the  first  place,  if  there  be  any  such  gospel  as  this, 
manifestly  the  very  first  thing  in  it  —  that  which 
cannot  be  left  out,  that  which  cannot  be  changed 
tliough  everything  else  were  changed  —  the  first 
thing  is  that  the  gospel  shall  be  from  God.  It  is 
grace,  God's  grace ;  it  is  forgiveness,  God's  for- 
giveness. It  is  the  restoration  to  right  relations 
with  God,  and  these  God  must  determine  ;  it  is  the 
entrance  of  man  into  God's  house  and  into  his 
heart.  Evidently,  then,  the  gospel  must  be  divine  ; 
it  must  come  from  above.  However  much  men 
may  think,  and  desire,  and  beheve,  nothing  has 
any  authority  until  God  gives  it.  The  common 
word  "  testament  "  carries  this  idea.  A  testament 
is  a  will.  The  value  of  the  will  is  in  the  siGrnature. 
It  may  be  drawn  by  the  best  lawyer  in  tlie  land  ; 
it  may  be  filled  with  the  most  generous  and  judi- 
cious provisions  ;  it  may  be  engrossed  upon  the 
finest  parchment  by  the  most  skilful  penman  in 
the  world ;  yet  it  is  only  worth  so  much  as  the 


286  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

bare  parchment  is  worth  until  the  man  who  owns 
the  property  signs  it.  It  is  so  with  this  New 
Testament.  St.  Paul  could  not  make  it ;  no  man, 
not  all  men  together,  could  make  it ;  the  thoughts 
of  men  are  not  to  be  trusted,  until  God,  with  his 
own  hand,  writes  his  name.  This  should  be  clearly 
understood,  because  so  often  men  think  that  they 
can  make  a  gospel ;  that  they  can  reason  it  out,  or 
that  it  can  spring  up  within  them.  We  can  deter- 
mine the  kind  of  will  our  rich  neighbor  ought  to 
make,  but  he  does  not  always  make  the  sort  of 
will  we  should  have  written.  God  makes  his  own 
testament,  and  not  until  he  signs  it  is  it  a  testa- 
ment. 

Then,  again,  it  must  have  its  human  side.  If 
this  is  the  redemption  of  men,  it  must  come  to 
men  ;  it  must  enter  into  them  and  be  wrought  out 
among  them.  We  can  see  how  fitting  and  neces- 
sary it  is  that  there  should  be  one  among  men, 
having  their  form  and  estate,  living  before  them 
the  life  that  God's  children  ought  to  lead; 
illustrating  his  righteousness,  declaring  his  grace, 
and  proving  its  power  and  simplicity  in  his  own 
open  experience.  We  are  convinced  that  the 
gospel  must  have  its  human  as  well  as  its  divine 
side. 

I  do  not  know  that  we  should  have  thought  this 
out,  yet  it  seems  probable  that  we  should  have 
planned  it  somewhat  in  this  way,  because  these 
two  ideas  have  entered  into  the  religious  thought 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF,  287 

of  different  natures.  They  have  believed  that  God 
has  come  down  among  men,  and  has  lived  and 
worked  in  human  form.  This  gospel  which  St. 
Paul  preached  is  divine  ;  the  word  that  was  in  the 
beginning  with  God  and  was  God,  has  made  it  and 
taught  it.  It  is  human ;  the  divine  word  was 
made  flesh  and  dwelt  among  men,  and  we  have 
seen  his  glory.  Must  a  gospel  bo  divine  ?  Christ 
is  divine.  IMust  a  gospel  be  human  ?  Christ  is 
human.  To  create  and  bestow  the  gospel  God 
was  manifest  in  the  flesh.  In  this  the  gospel  com- 
mends itself  to  us. 

But  passing  from  this,  it  is  reasonable  to  expect 
that  a  gospel  coming  to  men  will  be  preached  by 
men  ;  that  it  will  not  be  written  upon  the  heavens, 
or  declared  by  mystic  signs  among  the  stars.  God 
works  by  men.  Every  nation  has  its  prophet. 
It  seems  to  be  one  of  the  primal  and  essential 
thoughts  of  men  that  if  God  ever  speaks  to  the 
Avorld,  he  will  speak  by  men.  Hence  when  this 
gospel  comes  by  men  it  uses  the  most  natural 
method.  The  most  simple  way  in  which  God  can 
speak  to  the  world,  is  by  speaking  to  certain  men 
and  letting  tliem  utter  the  truth  to  the  nations. 
That  is  the  metliod  of  the  gospel.  If  we  take  the 
life  of  that  apostle  who  more  tlian  any  other  has 
been  the  minister  of  God's  gospel  to  the  world,  we 
see  how  this  truth  is  fulfilled,  so  tliat  the  life  of 
St.  Paul  may  be  considered  a  part  of  the  metliod 
of  the  gospel. 


288  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

If  you  examine  the  life  of  this  man  you  will 
see  how  wonderfully  suited  he  was  to  this  work. 
He  belonged  in  the  world.  He  had  a  rare  advan- 
tage in  that  he  was  of  Hebrew  parentage  while  he 
was  a  Roman  citizen.  He  was  not  born  in  Italy 
nor  in  Palestine,  but  between  the  two,  in  the 
Asiatic  province  of  Cilicia.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  ability  ;  a  man  of  learning,  trained  in  all 
which  the  schools  of  Tarsus  could  teach  him,  and 
in  that  special  instruction  wliich  was  given  at 
Jerusalem.  A  man  of  great  sincerity  and  fidelity  ; 
of  great  independence  and  generosity;  a  man 
just  and  faithful,  disposed  to  give  himself  in  all 
sacrifice  and  devotion  for  men  ^  tender,  tearful  — 
the  tears  of  St.  Paul,  which  he  confesses,  are  one 
of  his  marked  characteristics  —  a  man  of  patriot- 
ism, witli  an  unchanging  attachment  to  his  own 
people*,  thoroughly,  at  first  narrowly,  religious  and 
determined  to  have  a  conscience  void  of  offence  in 
the  siorht  of  God  and  men. 

o 

This  is  the  man  who  comes  to  us  with  the  gos- 
pel of  God ,  a  man  Avho  stood  so  near  to  Christ 
and  those  who  were  the  closest  to  him,  that  he 
could  almost  hear  his  words  as  they  were  spoken. 
A  man  who  had  come  into  this  truth  by  a  pro- 
found personal  experience  ;  who  was  not  called 
upon  to  give  to  others  that  which  he  had  not  felt 
himself.  He  came  through  tliat  humbling  way  by 
which  publicans  must  come,  tearing  himself  from 
the  associations  and  hopes  of  his  life,  and  giving 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF  2S9 

Iiinisclf  up  to  one  wlio  ]iacl  no  renown,  ana  upon 
whose  cross  there  rested  not  that  glory,  wliich, 
looking  back,  we  now  can  discern. 

This  man,  with  tliese  personal  traits,  and  this 
personal  experience,  Avent  to  Corinth,  and  is  going 
througli  the  world,  declaring  the  truths  of  the  gos- 
pel of  Clirist.  I  do  not  say  that  the  gospel  is  true 
because  St.  Paul  preached  it,  but  I  do  say  that  it 
is  a  very  strong  testimony  to  the  truth  of  the  gos- 
pel that  St.  Paul  believed  it.  The  man  gives  weight 
to  his  belief.  Tlie  value  and  the  validity  of  a  law- 
yer's, a  physician's,  a  philosoplier's,  a  mechanic's 
judgment  depends  greatly  uj)on  the  character  and 
knowledge  of  the  man.  This  man,  in  all  the 
strength  and  sublimity  and  simplicity  of  his  char- 
acter, stands  forth  as  a  personal  witness  to  a  gos- 
pel which  had  satisfied  his  conscience,  had.  met 
the  wants  of  his  life,  had  rewarded  him  for  his 
sacrifice,  had  given  him  assurance  in  his  work, and 
fortitude  and  cheerfulness  in  imprisonment  and 
under  the  shadow  of  a  cruel  death. 

Thus  the  gospel,  coming  to  us  with  its  divine 
and  human  character,  and  coming  to  us  in  this 
personal  method,  commends  itself  to  every  man's 
conscience. 

I  might  add  to  this  the  lives  of  the  other  apos- 
tles, who  Avere  men  standing  near  to  Christ  and 
who  received  the  gospel  in  such  a  Avay  that  it 
changed  their  life,  and  made  them  give  their 
testimony  to  its  truth,  even  in  loss  and  death.      I 


290  CAMBRIDGE  SEE2I0I^S. 

miglit  bring  to  your  notice  the  list  of  men  in  later 
times  —  wise  and  saintly  men;  confessors  and 
martyrs  —  who  have  taken  this  truth  to  prove  it 
under  all  varieties  and  conditions  of  life,  and  who, 
having  satisfied  tliemselves  of  its  power,  have 
become  the  ministers  of  it  to  others. 

I  might  present  to  you  the  long  catalogue  of 
the  noble  and  the  good,  the  wise  and  the  brave ; 
the  men  who  have  done  most  to  dignify  and 
ennoble  humanity ;  men  whose  lives  for  purity 
never  have  been  exceeded,  whose  spirit  for  nobil- 
ity never  has  been  excelled  ;  who  confess  before  ns 
that  the  gospel  meets  all  the  requirements  of  their 
nature,  and  enables  them  cheerfully  to  become  its 
witnesses  to  the  conscience  of  men  through  all  the 
world.     But  npon  this  I  cannot  dwell. 

Let  me  ask  you  to  notice,  in  the  third  place, 
that  this  gospel  comes  to  us  —  it  is  a  part  of  the 
method  of  it  • —  not  imposing  npon  us  a  bald 
authority,  silencing  our  questions,  bidding  us  com- 
mit ourselves  blindly  to  a  wisdom  which  is  above 
ns.  It  comes  answering  our  questions;  even  start- 
ing new  questions,  that  may  it  answer  them.  It  does 
not  say  of  any  anxious  inquiry  of  the  soul,  "  This 
is  not  for  you  to  know  ,  this  is  for  your  masters, 
and  for  the  priests."  It  solves  questions  of  pro- 
found import  which  are  answered  nowhere  else. 
We  stand  among  mysteries,  are  full  of  inquir- 
ies. A  man's  relation  to  God,  a  man's  duty,  the 
way  of  restoration  to  God  which  shall  give  him 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF.  291 

peace  and  assurance  ;  a  man's  destiny  and  the  way 
to  make  that  destinj^  blessed  —  upon  these  themes 
the  world  has  no  clear  voice,  save  where  the  gos- 
pel is  preached.  I  wander  from  man  to  man 
with  the  serious  thouorhts  which  come  to  me,  as  I 
know  that  in  a  few  years,  at  the  most,  I  shall 
go  hence.  But  no  man  tells  me  anything  much 
better  than  I  have  thought  out  by  myself.  I 
stand  among  the  open  graves  of  your  households, 
to  hear  you  ask,  "  What  is  there  beyond  ?  ''  And 
all  the  schools  are  silent ;  the  oracles  are  dumb. 
We  utter  our  hope  through  our  tears ;  the  un- 
taught centuries  have  added  nothing  to  the 
human  hopes.  Knowledge  was  never  so  great  as 
to-day  ;  the  j^^n'^^iit  of  knowledge  was  never  so 
vigorous  ;  but  all  the  study  has  not  added  a  sylla- 
ble which  answers  the  questions  which  we  must 
have  answered;  for  whose  answer  we  would  be 
willing  to  deny  ourselves  much  Avhich  men  call 
knowledgre. 

o 

This  silence  is  siofnificant  when  knowledoe  is  so 
vast  and  is  growing  on  every  hand.  Men  are 
bringing  tlie  heavens  down  to  the  earth,  and  walk- 
ing along  their  streets  they  are  wakening  the  strong 
forces  of  forgotten  generations,  and  their  life  flies 
through  the  air  and  swims  through  the  sea  as  if  it 
had  not  been  dead  for  ages.  ]\len  are  studying 
their  own  thoughts,  and  philosophy  was  never  so 
venturesome,  perhaps  never  so  wise,  as  it  is  to-day. 
I  can  know  almost  anything  that  I  want  to  know. 


292  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

Nothing  is  so  distant  in  space  or  so  remote  in  time 
that  I  may  not  hope  to  know  of  it  all  which  I  need 
to  know.  With  this  knowledge  rising  about  my 
feet,  until  I  am  half  drowned  with  the  mere  names 
of  the  topics  which  it  presents  to  me,  I  ask  if 
there  is  nothing  to  be  known  of  the  things  which 
are  most  important.  I  go  through  the  libraries 
from  shelf  to  shelf,  from  book  to  book,  and  they 
tell  me  almost  everything  but  that  which  I  must 
know.  I  press  my  inquiries  and  beg  for  a  reply, 
and  the  wise  men  say,  "  We  will  teach  you  every- 
thing else  ;  we  will  tell  you  what  you  sprung  from  ; 
we  will  analyze  your  character ;  we  will  break  the 
light  into  fragments  and  lay  the  stars  as  a  glitter- 
ing dust  at  your  feet ;  but  your  duty  you  cannot 
know;  your  relation  to  God  you  cannot  know, 
what  comes  after  death  you  cannot  know;  the  way 
of  bringing  peace  to  your  conscience  and  right- 
eousness to  your  life  you  cannot  know.''  I  say 
that  we  can  know.  In  the  name  of  growing,  star- 
eyed  science,  we  can  know.  In  the  name  of  four- 
teen hundred  students  in  our  university,  we  can 
know.  In  the  name  of  our  vast  libraries,  our  bold 
search  for  truth,  our  accumulated,  teeming,  and 
overwhelming  knowledge  of  everything  else,  we 
can  know.  I  know  that  I  can  know.  God,  duty, 
life,  destiny  —  I  am  sure  that  I  can  know  themj 
and  I  find  the  knowledge  in  this  gospel  of  God, 
which  answers  the  questions  with  a  voice  that  does 
not  tremble  ;  which  gratifies   this  longing  of  the 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF.  293 

heart  to  whom  these  are  the  real,  the  practical 
things  of  life  ;  and  because  the  gospel  comes  to 
me  doing  \Yhat  must  be  done,  telling  what  I  must 
know,  supplementing  all  the  growing  knowledge 
of  the  Avorld,  it  commends  itself  to  my  conscience 
in  the  sight  of  God.  My  conscience  says  that  I 
can  know  my  duty  and  my  destiny.  The  world 
sa^'S,  "  We  cannot  tell  you  your  duty  nor  your 
destiny."  The  gospel  says,  "  I  tell  you  your  duty 
and  your  destiny ;  "  and  my  conscience  smiles 
upon  the  revelation  and  glories  in  it. 

In  its  rational  method  the  gospel  commends 
itself  to  the  conscience.  It  addresses  itself  at  once 
to-  the  spirit.  It  recognizes  the  spiritual  nature 
of  man.  That  grand  sentence,  almost  the  grandest 
sentence  in  the  Bible,  which  our  Saviour  uttered 
at  the  well  of  Samaria,  when  he  said,  "  God  is  a 
spirit,"  finds  its  counterpart  in  another  truth  im- 
plied all  through  the  Scriptures.  It  might  be 
rendered  in  this  Avay :  Man  is  a  spirit,  and  they 
that  help  him  must  help  him  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 
Some  persons,  claiming  our  respect,  say,  man  is  a 
spirit,  and  they  that  help  him  must  build  him  a 
better  house  ;  they  must  give  him  a  better  social 
estate  j  they  must  provide  a  better  govern- 
ment ;  they  must  invent  a  new  kind  of  sepulchre. 
But  the  gospel  is  better  ;  it  goes  directly  to 
tlie  spirit  of  man.  That  word  ''conscience" 
itself  is  a  witness.  What  other  system  of 
religion    clearly    pronounces    the    word?       What 


294  CAMBRIDGE  SEBMONS. 

system  of  learning  speaks  the  ^yo^d  "  conscience  " 
except  as  it  takes  i%  from  the  gospel?  To  the 
reason,  to  the  affections,  to  the  will  —  that  is,  to 
the  man  himself,  Scripture  appeals.  It  flashes  no 
sword ;  it  stretches  out  no  sceptre  ;  it  paints  no 
picture ;  it  sings  no  song  ;  it  raises  no  glittering 
pageant  which  may  delight  and  bewilder.  It 
comes  with  the  simple  truth  to  the  reason  and 
heart  of  man.  You  may  hear  this  truth  of  God  in 
the  stateliest  cathedral  with  all  the  accompani- 
ments of  architecture  and  music.  You  may  hear 
it  in  the  camp  of  the  soldier.  The  sailor  may  read 
it  in  his  forecastle.  The  wrecked  mariner  may 
recall  it  upon  the  ocean  rock.  The  prisoner  may 
remember  it  in  the  dungeon.  The  dying  man  may 
catch  its  words  from  the  scroll  at  the  foot  of  his 
bed.  You  may  not  have  the  book ;  you  may  recall 
but  a  single  chapter,  a  single  sentence  of  it ;  and 
that  sentence  in  its  witness  to  God,  and  duty,  and 
truth,  and  redemption,  shall  be  enough  to  save  a 
man  into  a  righteous  life  and  to  give  him  a  glorious 
hope.  In  this  independence  of  all  things  that  are 
without;  in  this  method  of  finding  no  heart  in  our 
solitude,  the  gospel  commends  itself.  When  you 
want  to  think  well  on  a  subject,  you  wish  to  be 
alone.  You  do  not  ask  the  architect  to  make  a 
cathedral  so  great  that  its  inspiration  shall  help 
you  in  your  hard  thinking.  You  do  not  ask  the 
singers  to  sing  to  you  a  song  that  shall  bring  to  you 
a  better  revelation  of  your  duty  in  some  practical 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF.  295 

matter  of  daily  life.  You  say,  leave  me  alone. 
Our  best  thinking,  I  suppose,  is  done  when  the 
lights  are  out  and  the  city  around  us  is  still.  If  I 
am  to  think  upon  my  duty,  I  want  to  think  in 
silence.  My  reason  must  be  quick  ;  my  conscience 
must  waken;  I  must  not  be  disturbed;  the  truth 
must  come  to  me  in  such  a  form  that  I  can  take 
and  liold  it  in  my  mind  without  a  book,  and  pon- 
der it  without  a  preacher.  This  gospel  which 
brings  itself  so  quietly  to  my  solitude,  commends 
itself  to  mc.  If  we  cannot  be  saved  until  we  have 
trodden  the  temples  of  the  old  world  ;  if  we  cannot 
be  saved  until  the  most  majestic  music  bears  our 
worship  to  the  skies,  there  is  little  hope  for  us. 
But  a  gospel  which  you  can  leach  your  children, 
which  you  can  repeat  to  yourselves  as  you  walk 
the  streets,  which  in  the  sanctity  and  repose  of 
your  own  minds  you  can  dwell  upon  and  work  into 
your  life,  is  a  gospel  which  commends  itself  to 
the  good  sense  of  a  man  in  the  sight  of  God.  All 
the  record  is  open  ;  the  Church  has  not  a  single 
secret ;  we  keep  nothing  back ;  we  tell  the  whole 
that  is  given  to  us  for  our  guidance,  and  we 
pray  men  to  search  the  Scriptures,  that  they  may 
determine  whether  their  gospel  commends  itself  to 
every  man's  conscience  in  the  sight  of  God. 

The  gospel  comes  to  us  in  this  way  to  give  us  a 
standard  of  life.  It  does  not  leave  us  to  evolve 
out  of  our  own  consciousness  the  principles  of 
duty.     It  sets  before  us  a  rule ;  an  ideal  to  which 


296  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

we  are  to  attain.  It  honors  conscience  in  doing 
this.  It  honors  conscience,  again^  because  it  does 
not  give  to  us  the  details  of  life.  It  Avould  sim- 
plify duty  if  a  few  volumes  not  much  larger  than 
this  Bible  Avere  written,  in  which  all  things  that 
men  are  likely  to  thiuk  of  doing  could  be  cata- 
logued, and  numbered,  and  classified,  so  that  the 
glance  of  the  eye  would  show  us  what  to  do. 

How  simple  a  thing  it  would  be  in  the  practical 
questions  of  ethics,  for  one  to  turn  to  the  book,  and 
find  the  column  over  which  is  written  the  name  of 
that  which  he  is  thinking  about,  and  then  find  at 
once  whether  it  is  right  for  him  to  do  it  or  not ! 
Now,  the  gospel  pursues  a  different  method.  It 
gives  to  us  certain  principles  which  respect  our 
conscience  and  our  reason  ;  and  it  leaves  reason  to 
judge  of  these  things  and  to  apply  them.  It 
leaves  conscience  to  determine  how  this  law 
shall  be  laid  upon  our  life.  Conscience  likes  this 
treatment.  A  man  wants  to  be  out  of  leading 
strings.  We  like  to  think  that  God  has  given  us 
a  real  liberty,  and  that  he  has  not  told  us  in  pre- 
cise and  minute  terms  what  we  are  to  do  between 
twelve  and  one  o'clock  to-day,  and  between  one 
and  two  o'clock  to-morrow;  that  he  lets  us  de- 
cide these  matters  for  ourselves.  Conscience  likes 
this,  and  approves  the  gospel  which  leaves  to  it 
its  proper  work.  But  the  gospel  gives  to  us 
certain  general  maxims,  and  these  conscience 
approves.     I   need    not   repeat   them  now.     One 


I 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF.  297 

or  two  of  them  I  may  mention  :  "  Wliatsoevcr 
a  man  soweth,  that  sluill  he  also  reap,"  which  is 
one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  gospel. 
Every  man  says  that  is  right.  "  He  that  soweth 
bountifully  shall  reap  also  bountifully ;  and  he 
that  soweth  sparingly  shall  reap  also  sparingl}-." 
And  this:  "Every  man  shall  give  account  of 
himself  to  God."  And  this  :  "  It  is  more  blessed 
to  give  than  to  receive."  I  might  enlarge  the 
list;  I  think  that  every  one  of  them  commends 
itself  to  us.  We  desire  to  have  everyone  of  them 
applied  by  our  neighbors,  and  sometimes  consent 
that  they  should  be  applied  by  ourselves.  And  if 
there  be  any  rules  which  seem  to  reach  above  us 
to-day,  we  remember  that  we  are  going  on  into  a 
world  where  these  same  relations  are  to  hold  good. 
The  Sermon  on  the  j\lount,  in  its  essential  prin- 
ciples, is  as  true  in  heaven  as  it  is  upon  earth, 
and  will  alwa3^s  be  true.  If  we  cannot  come  to 
the  master}'  of  all  its  rules  to-da}^  perhaps  we  can 
to-morrow. 

Then,  again,  in  laying  down  certain  principles 
which  are  to  govern  our  life,  the  gospel  enjoins 
duties  which  human  commandments  could  not 
require.  No  commandment  could  require  you  to 
love  your  child.  It  could  prevent  your  abuse  of 
him  ;  it  could  require  you  to  instruct  him ;  but  it 
could  not  require  you  to  love  him.  No  statute 
could  make  you  forgive  a  man  who  had  wronged 
you.     It  could  prevent  your  striking  him,  perhaps, 


298  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

but  the  gospel  enjoins  love  and  forgiveness.  God 
administers  the  gospel  upon  principles  of  equity, 
which  are  beyond  statutes  ;  and  in  doing  this  it 
commends  itself  to  our  conscience. 

But  advancing  once  more,  the  gospel  commends 
itself  to  a  man's  conscience  by  the  way  in  which  it 
regards  a  man.  We  are  sensitive,  and  we  ought  to 
be.  The  gospel  treats  a  man  with  respect.  I 
should  like  to  repeat  that,  because  this  method  is 
not  always  followed :  The  gospel  treats  manhood 
with  great  respect.  It  does  not  try  to  drive  him  ; 
it  does  not  scold  him  ;  it  does  not  denounce  him 
and  call  him  by  opprobrious  epithets.  It  never 
once  forgets  that  a  man  is  a  child  of  God  ;  it  never 
overlooks  the  fact  that  a  man  is  to  live  forever. 
It  finds  the  column  of  the  temple  lying  in  the  dust 
and  the  sand  driven  over  it.  But  it  does  not  call 
it  rubbisli ;  it  calls  it  a  column  ;  a  fallen  column. 
It  rebuilds  the  temple  out  of  this  single  shaft ;  it 
marks  the  beaut}^  of  the  material,  the  sublimity  of 
the  proportions,  the  very  carving  and  tracery  of 
the  shattered  capital,  and  seeks  to  raise  it  up  and 
to  construct  a  house  around  it.  The  gospel  speaks 
of  man  as  fallen  ;  but  it  is  man  who  has  fallen  ;  and 
fallen  man  has  conscience,  and  reason,  and  will,  and 
the  love  of  God,  and  the  endless  3^ears.  It  calls 
man  dead  in  trepasses  and  sins ;  but  it  offers  to 
this  man  eternal  life.  It  pronounces  him  guilty  ; 
it  proffers  to  him  righteousness.  I  ask  you  if  all 
the  books  of  men  treat  our  common  manhood  with 


TRUTH  COMMENDING  ITSELF.  299 

that   respect  and   dignity  with  which  the  gospel 
always  treats  it. 

Then  it  deals  impartially  with  us  ;  it  makes  no 
account  of  race,  or  class,  or  estate.  It  treats  every 
man  in  his  own  personality.  It  never  confuses 
men  one  Avith  another.  It  respects  conscience 
with  such  decrees  as  this :  '*  Who  art  thou  that 
judgest  another  man's  servant?  To  his  own  mas- 
ter he  standeth  or  falleth."  We  like  tliat  sentence. 
We  are  glad  to  know  that  w^hen  we  stand  before 
God  we  shall  not  be  judged  for  the  deeds  of  our 
ancestors,  or  the  deeds  of  oar  neighbors.  Only  my 
own  life  have  I  to  answer  for.  For  its  short- 
comings I  must  be  judged ;  for  its  repentance  I 
may  be  accepted.  Solitary  and  alone  a  man  may 
be  in  his  piety,  but  he  shall  have  that  piety  re- 
membered in  the  Da}^  Independent  individual, 
free,  with  his  freedom  always  kept  in  mind,  the 
man  is  judged  by  the  law  of  liberty.  I  know  that 
I  do  what  I  choose  to  do ;  I  feel  that  it  is  right 
that  God  should  judge  me  by  that  which  I  choose 
to  do.  It  is  a  cardinal  principle  of  the  gospel,  and 
conscience  pronounces  it  just.  Indeed,  conscience 
wanders  along  these  lines  of  divine  truth,  and 
pausing  at  every  sentence,  gives  its  approval : 
**  That  is  right ;  that  is  just ;  that  is  true."  From 
first  to  last  tlie  principles  of  God's  government, 
the  principles  of  God's  grace,  are  just.  If  I  fall 
beneath  them,  they  are  just.  If,  to  give 
account  of  the  deeds  which  I  am  doing  is  my  ruin, 


300  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

it  is  just  that  I  should  give  an  account  of  tlie 
deeds  which  I  am  doing.  The  work  of  the  gospel 
is  thorough  upon  both  sides  ;  thorough  upon  the 
side  of  its  law,  its  assertion  of  principle ;  thorough 
upon  that  which  it  calls  us  to  do.  It  respects  man 
by  making  man  to  bear  his  part  in  the  work  of  liis 
own  redemption.  Redemption  is  a  common  word 
in  the  Scriptures,  but  it  is  not  more  common  than 
repentance.  We  are  told  that  we  have  gone  away 
from  God.  We  are  told  of  the  regeneration  of 
God's  Spirit ;  but  we  are  bidden  to  make  to  our- 
selves a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit.  We  are  told 
of  Christ's  salvation,  but  not  as  if  we  were  to  be 
driven  into  Paradise  because  Christ  has  died.  It 
is  as  thorough  upon  this  side  when  it  says,  "  Work 
out  your  own  salvation,  for  it  is  God  which 
worketh  in  you."  The  gospel  which  brings  to  me 
the  assured  truth  of  God  and  the  assured 
truth  of  my  own  life  and  duty,  commends 
itself  to  my  conscience.  I  believe,  if  I  am 
saved,  it  is  because  of  Christ's  redemption ; 
I  believe,  if  I  am  saved  by  Christ's  redemption,  it 
is  because  I  repent  of  my  sins  and  trust  him.  I 
believe  that  I  have  the  salvation  of  Clirist ;  I  be- 
lieve that  I  must  work  out  my  own  salvation.  And 
it  is  in  this  thoroughness,  this  breadth,  this  large- 
ness of  its  assertion,  that  the  gospel  commends 
itself  to  the  conscience  of  a  thouglitful  man. 

Brethren,  there   are    many   more   things  which 
might  be  presented,  upon  which  I  cannot  detain 


TRUTH  COMMEXDIXG  ITSELF.  301 

you  now.  If  this  which  I  have  said  is  true,  it  will 
be  found  true  wlieu  you  have  gone  to  your  homes, 
and  when  you  think  upon  it  by  the  way.  If  the 
gospel  is  that  wliich  St.  Paul  chiinied  it  to  be,  it 
will  commend  itself  to  your  conscience.  I  do  not 
know  what  you  will  do  with  it.  You  may  not  sub- 
mit your  life  to  it;  you  may  disown  it;  you  may 
reject  its  duties  and  its  graces.  But  if  it  is  God's 
gospel,  your  conscience  will  say  that  it  is  right. 
So  kind  is  it,  so  helpful,  speaking  great  words  of 
us,  and  starting  great  hopes  for  us.  How  it  raises 
us  up,  and  makes  our  manhood  vast  and  eternal, 
and  brings  to  us  the  beginning  of  an  endless  des- 
tiny, whose  glories  we  can  only  dimly  see  while 
upon  their  shadowy  confines  we  are  waiting. 
Brethren,  I  cannot  answer  for  you;  you  do  not 
need  it,  nor  wish  it.  A  man  must  be  the  judge 
for  himself.  One  thing  I  know:  It  is  no  hasty 
thought;  it  is  no  narrow  opinion,  after  a  brief, 
contracted,  uneventful  experience.  One  thing  I 
know :  that  the  gospel  of  Christ  commends  itself 
to  my  conscience  as  I  stand  here  in  the  sight  of 
God.  I  could  not  describe  myself  so  well  as  the 
Bible  has  described  me.  No  one  will  ever  care  to 
write  the  story  of  my  life  ;  but  no  man  ever  could 
write  it  as  it  is  written  here.  I  have  lived  through 
ahnost  all  the  Bible,  and  the  rest  is  not  far  dis- 
tant. It  tells  the  truth  about  me;  it  answers 
every  question  1  ask  which  is  of  great  account; 
it  saLislies  the  lonomos  which  I  have  to  know;  it 


302  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

gives  me  wise  counsel  for  my  duty.  I  never  yet 
liave  been  sorry  when  I  have  done  as  it  told  me  ; 
I  have  been  sorry  a  thousand  times  when  I  have 
not  obeyed  it.  In  my  most  quiet  hours,  in  the 
hours  when  I  have  seen  my  kindred  fall  into  the 
grave,  in  view  of  all  that  is  before  me,  I  have 
found  it  true.  I  say  here  in  the  sight  of  Al- 
mighty God,  my  conscience  is  satisfied  with  the 
gospel  of  Christ. 


XVI. 

THE  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE. 

[Preached  at  Wellesley  College.] 


Scripture  Lesson  :  Ilchrews  vii:  16. 

Text:    Who  is  made,  not  after  the  law  of  a  carnal  command- 
ment, but  after  the  power  of  an  endless  life.    Hebrews  vii:  16. 

THIS  was  said  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
When  he  came  into  the  world  to  be  our 
great  High  Priest,  he  did  not  make  up  his  life  after 
an  earthly  standard,  suiting  himself  to  the  priest- 
hood, and  the  priestly  service,  and  the  fashion  of 
things  which  he  found  among  men  ;  but  he  had 
regard  to  that  which  was  permanent,  and  set  his 
life  into  endless  proportions.  He  did  not  adapt 
himself  to  Solomon's  temple,  but  to  the  temple's 
Solomon.  He  knew  that  in  a  few  years  the 
temple  and  the  city  which  it  adorned  would  be 
removed.  Men  were  to  be  independent  of  place 
and  time,  and  were  to  worship  God  in  spirit  and 
in  truth.  The  worship  was  to  be  forever.  He 
saw  the  endless  life  of  man,  and  in  all  his  plan 
and  work  addressed   himself  to   this,  and    made 

303 


804  CAMBRIDGE  SER3I0NS. 

up  liis  purposes  and  gave  himself  to  the  world 
as  its  Redeemer,  after  the  po\A^er  of  an  endless 
life.  It  behooved  him  to  do  tliis  because  the  life 
of  man  is  endless.  That  which  is  limited  in  its 
ability  and  design  cannot  meet  the  requirements 
of  one  Avhose  years  are  boundless.  He  needs  an 
"eternal  redemption"  and  an  "everlasting  gos- 
pel." He  has  all  which  he  needs  in  the  power 
of  the  endless  life  of  Christ. 

There  is  a  profound  and  practical  truth  here 
for  our  own  governance.  Man  is  to  make  up  his 
thought  and  plan,  his  purpose  and  will,  and  to  do 
his  work,  not  by  the  lav/  of  tliat  which  is  tran- 
sient, but  by  the  power  of  that  which  is  eternal. 
He  has  an  endless  life,  and  in  the  sight  of  that 
fact  he  is  to  live.  He  is  not  to  fit  himself  to  a 
world  which  he  will  presently  desert,  or  to  adopt 
the  maxims  and  methods  of  a  temporary  S3''stem, 
or  to  set  a  limit  to  his  3'ears,  and  mistake  a  change 
of  his  place  for  a  change  of  himself.  He  is  to 
have  it  constantly  in  mind  that  he  is  to  live  for 
uncounted  years,  and  to  govern  himself  in  accord- 
ance with  this  reality.  Not  a  carnal,  earthly, 
perishing  commandment,  but  the  power  of  an 
endless  life,  is  to  rule  his  intent  and  his  deed. 

I  do  not  know  where  these  things  could  be  said 
more  fittingly  than  here.  We  read  the  lesson  a 
few  months  ago  in  connection  with  the  birthday 
of  the  man  who  founded  this  college.  We  read  it 
again  on  the  first  anniversary  of  his  translation. 


THE  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.         305 

This  is  his  real  birthday,  so  he  woiikl  liavo  said. 
It  is  this  which  we  are  tauglit  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment, where  small  account  is  made  of  our  entrance 
into  this  world,  and  little  is  said  of  tliat  which  we 
call  death,  with  the  knell,  the  pall,  the  bier ;  but 
the  great  event  is  the  going  on  to  Christ  when  his 
prayer  is  answered  :  "  Fatlier,  I  will  that  they  also 
whom  thou  hast  given  me  be  with  nie  where  I  am." 
It  is  rather  the  beginning  than  the  ending  of  a  life 
which  is  in  our  minds  to-night.  He  was  not  plan- 
ning for  the  years  during  which  he  might  continue 
here.  He  cast  his  work  far  in  advance.  He  made 
it  a  part  of  an  endless  plan.  He  knew  that  he 
was  to  be,  not  for  seventy  years,  but  for  sevent}'' 
thousand  years,  and  he  measured  his  purposes  by 
that  standard.  He  began  a  work  which  was  to 
endure.  To  erect  buildings  was  merely  incidental  to 
his  design.  He  proposed  to  build  characters.  He 
formed  a  home  and  a  school  for  those  who  were  to 
live  through  the  ages,  and  he  arranged  the  institu- 
tion around  that  idea.  He  brouo-ht  tooether  teachers 
who  could  instruct  in  the  principles  of  everlasting 
life,  and  offered  to  the  scholars  wisdom  which  they 
could  use  at  once,  and  use  forever.  The  course  of 
stud}^  covers  seventy  thousand  years,  and  more. 
The  buildings  will  fall,  the  earth  itself  will  pass 
away,  but  the  lessons  will  last.  Truth  is  not  held 
to  times  and  things.  This  He  knew  well.  It 
entered  into  his  own  life.  He  meant  to  have  it 
enter  the  lives  of  others.     In  this  stands  the  high 


306  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

renown  of  liis  ^^^^iTose.  He  was  wise  when  lie 
invested  liis  endless  thought  in  an  endless  school. 
It  remains  to  have  this  purpose  recognized  and 
fulfilled  by  all  who  enter  these  gates  bringing  in 
their  endless  years,  that  they  may  be  inspired  and 
controlled  by  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 

There  is  but  one  life  in  the  world  —  it  is  the  life 
of  God.  In  him  all  life  has  its  being.  The  life 
of  man  is  at  the  first  in  the  eternal  purpose  of  the 
Creator.  By  that  purpose  man  comes  into  his 
personal  being  Every  one's  genealogy  ends  like 
that  given  by  St.  Luke  :  "  Which  was  the  son  of 
Adam,  which  was  the  son  of  God.*'  A  man  is  an 
eternal  thought  incarnate.  The  artist's  thought 
precedes  the  picture  and  the  song.  This  is  after 
the  pattern.  One  is  "  before  all  things,  and  in 
him  all  things  consist."  Endless  life  in  God  is 
a  life  of  will  and  purpose.  The  true  life  of  man 
contains  the  same  will  and  intention.  "  Thy  will 
be  done,"  is  not  desigued  as  an  afterthought,  but 
as  the  primal  desire  of  the  man.  If  he  sets  him- 
self against  God's  purposes,  he  will  be  destroyed. 
If  he  attempts  to  stand  still  before  them,  he  will 
be  overwhelmed.  If  he  makes  his  own  purpose 
move  on  Avith  them,  he  will  have  a  prosperous 
career  and  an  everlasting  reward.  The  pagan  likes 
to  think  of  his  divinities  in  repose.  Jesus  said, 
"  My  Father  worketh  even  until  now,  and  I  work." 
He  was  able  to  say  at  length,  "  I  glorified  Thee  on 
the  earth,  having  accomplished  the  work  which 


THE  PO  W'ER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.         307 

Tlioii  hast  given  me  to  do."  We  are  to  do  our 
work,  cliaiiging  the  thought  of  God  into  word  and 
deed.  It  is  in  tliis  that  we  have  failed.  The  re- 
sult is  not  measured  by  earthly  years.  To  bring 
us  into  our  phice,  to  establish  us  in  righteous  lives, 
and  make  our  being  a  blessing,  the  Christ  lias 
come  and  given  himself  fur  us.  Henceforth  we  are 
to  be  followers  of  him,  in  the  power  of  an  endless 
life.  Our  thought  for  ourselves  is  to  rise  into 
Clirist's  thought  for  us. 

Let  us  notice  some  thincfs  which  will  result  from 

o 

the  persistent  thought  of  our  endless  life. 

I.  It  will  give  us  a  calmness  of  spirit  and  behav- 
ior. The  work  of  the  world  is  not  all  on  us.  The 
Lord  reigns.  We  have  our  part  of  his  will  to  do,  and 
only  that.  There  are  many  others  who  are  work- 
ing on  the  same  plan.  We  begin  our  part  of  the 
work,  but  not  the  work  itself.  That  begins  in 
God.  It  is  only  our  part  which  we  end  when  we 
end  anything ;  when  we  seem  to  leave  our  work 
that  we  may  go  hence.  Oftentimes  we  see  those 
into  whose  labors  we  are  entering,  with  whom  we 
shall  rejoice  in  the  harvest  of  our  common  life.  We 
can  often  appoint  those  who  shall  carry  forward  our 
endeavor.  We  can  train  children  and  scholars  to 
take  our  place.  Moses  was  permitted  to  intrust 
his  work  to  his  friend  Joshua.  He  could  do  this 
with  great  assurance  because  he  knew  the  man. 
He  could  do  it  with  joy,  if  he  knew  himself  and 
the  events  before  him.     He  was  buried  in  a  valley 


308  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

in  the  land  of  Moab,  over  against  Beth-peor,  and 
no  man  knew  his  sepulchre.  Fifteen  centuries 
went  bv,  and  again  he  was  seen  of  men  among 
the  cliffs  of  Horeb,  still  engaged  in  his  old  work 
which  was  far  advanced,  when  he  talked  witli  the 
Lord  "  of  his  decease  which  he  was  about  to  ac- 
complish at  Jerusalem."  The  passion  of  the  soul 
ma}^  well  be  stilled  when  a  man  sees  his  centuries 
before  him,  and  beholds  the  grandeur  of  his  life. 
He  will  feel  that  he  has  time  enough  for  all  which 
he  must  do.  Days  are  as  many  and  as  long  as 
duties.  He  moves  steadily  forward,  and  finds 
that,  if  his  wishes  outgrow  his  time,  his  duty  is 
well  clothed  upon.  One  of  the  wisest  of  our 
preachers  and  philosophers,  whose  life  had  been 
full  of  enterprise  and  rich  in  accomplishment,  when 
he  was  near  the  change  in  his  career,  so  that  he 
could  review  his  hurried  past  and  look  down  the 
serene  path  before  him,  said,  "  If  I  had  my  life  to 
live  over  again  I  would  not  push."  There  is  little 
need  of  competition,  and  jealousy  and  jostling, 
when  a  man  has  endless  years  for  his  own,  and 
with  all  other  good  men,  is  working  out  God's 
thought. 

All  our  bustling  morrows  only  make 
The  smooth  to-day  of  God. 

In  the  thoudit  of  his  endless  life  he  has  comfort 
in  his  weariness  and  pain.  Rest  is  coming.  The 
good  man's  trouble  is  short-lived. 


THE  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.         309 

The  morning's  joy  shall  end  the  night  of  weeping, 
And  life's  long  shadows  break  in  cloudless  sun. 

i\Ien  may  have  killed  his  body,  but  after  that 
they  have  no  more  which  they  can  do.  He  escapes 
their  hand,  and  from  the  heights  looks  down  on 
their  baffled  rage.  This  independence  whicli  be- 
longs with  immortality  is  rich  in  consolation.  It 
gives  courage  and  patience  and  triumph.  No 
wonder  martyrs  sing  at  the  stake,  rejoicing  that 
they  are  *'  counted  worthy  to  suffer  dishonor  for 
the  name."  Tlicy  know  what  is  before  them.  It 
Avas  not  Wickliffe,  but  the  dust  lie  had  worn, 
whicli  went  by  the  Avon  and  the  Severn  to  the 
sea. 

A  man  can  bear  all  things  which  have  a  speedy 
end.  He  should  be  master  of  himself  and  of  the 
world.  It  is  a  small  matter  that  he  is  obscure 
and  has  no  honor  of  his  fellows;  that  he  holds  no 
land  in  the  country  through  which  he  is  passing, 
and  has  no  house ;  that  his  work  is  humble  and 
hard.  If  in  his  dark  and  lowly  place  he  is  work- 
ing on  the  endless  plan  which  God  has  com- 
mitted to  him,  which  soon  will  lead  him  into 
tlie  kindly  light,  it  is  enough.  He  is  quiet  and 
hopeful.  He  waits  upon  the  Lord  and  his  will, 
and  trusts  the  endless  years : 

Thus  did  be  live  his  life, 
A  kind  of  passive  strife, 
Upon  the  God  within  his  heart  relying; 


310  CAMBBIBGE  SERMONS. 

Men  left  liim  all  alone, 
Because  he  was  unknown, 
But  lie  heard  the  angels  sing  when  he  was  dying. 

God  judges  of  a  light 

Which  baffles  mortal  sight, 
And  the  useless  seeming  man  the  crown  hath  won: 

In  his  vast  world  above, 

A  world  of  broader  love, 
God  hath  some  grand  employment  for  his  Son. 

II.  The  power  of  the  endless  years  will,  also, 
have  a  stimulating,  quickening  influence.  A  large 
work  whose  results  are  of  importance,  furnishes  an 
incentive  to  action.  We  do  not  wish  to  exert  our- 
selves for  that  which  is  small.  In  the  easy 
lesson,  the  simple  problem,  there  is  nothing 
to  stir  our  energy  or  excite  our  ambition.  The 
architect  will  not  put  his  skill  into  the  rude  build- 
ing which  will  be  taken  down  to-morrow.  Set 
him  to  the  construction  of  a  cathedral,  and  j^ou 
engage  all  the  forces  of  his  mind  and  heart,  and 
the  days  and  nights  of  years  will  be  given  to 
his  work. 

To  arrange  a  school  for  summer  study  Avould 
be  the  pastime  of  a  leisure  evening  when  the 
day's  work  is  done.  To  plan  and  found  a  col- 
lege n-eed  the  man's  highest  powers  in  their  best 
estate,  and  the  devotion  will  gladly  be  made. 

To  think  that  our  life  is  endless,  and  that  we 
are  making  its  character  and  deed  day  by  day,  after 
the  largest  measures,  starts  the  blood,  gives  vigor 


THE  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.  311 

to  the  will  and  stability  to  the  purpose.  All  that  a 
man  is  he  consecrates  to  the  sublime  accomplish- 
ment. The  teacher's  thought  enlarges  its  propor- 
tions when  he  sees  the  encPess  lines  of  his  instruc- 
tion. The  scholar  presses  with  eager  step  and  ex- 
panding heart  over  the  boundless  fielfls  before  him. 
It  is  stimulating  for  a  man  to  remember  that  his 
life  is  leagued  with  other  lives  which  are  advanc- 
ing, with  which  his  own  vision  and  intention  must 
keep  pace.  Still  more  are  his  desires  excited  and 
his  designs  enlarged  by  the  knowledge  that  he  is 
working  out  the  endless  thought  of  God  ;  that  his 
life  is  a  part  of  God's  eternity,  and  that  he  is 
created  for  a  limitless  career.  To  know  that  he  is 
the  child  of  God,  that  his  life  is  planned  and  him- 
self guided  by  God ,  that  his  work  is  a  part  of  the 
eternal  fabric  which  God's  omnipotence  is  construct- 
ing, this  makes  a  man  conscious  of  the  grandeur  of 
being,  of  the  greatness  of  the  thought  which  is  incar- 
nate in  his  manhood.  Can  one  think  upon  his  end- 
less life  and  bear  the  strain  ?  I  can  understand  the 
burden  of  one  who  said,  "  The  thought  that  this 
frail  beinor  is  never  to  end  is  so  overwhelmincr  that 
my  only  shelter  is  God's  presence."  That  shelter 
is  denied  to  no  one.  Within  the  calmness  of  God's 
eternity  the  man  holds  his  endless  3'cars.  But 
they  are  years  of  life.  They  are  j^ears  of  grand 
requisition.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  when 
religion  no  longer  requires  that  men  shall  attempt 
the  impossible,  it  ceases  to  be  religion.    God's  will 


312  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

is  a  long  will.  The  principles  of  his  government 
run  on  forever.  His  laws  are  everlasting.  Into 
this  stability  the  man  is  born.  According  to  his 
clay  his  strength  shall  be.  With  this  provision  he 
is  to  advance.  He  is  inclined  to  look  back  and 
seek  his  origin.  Divine  providence  and  divine  com- 
mandment bid  him  go  forward.  He  is  promised  a 
spiritual  body  which  shall  endure.  His  spirit  is 
immortal.  His  works  shall  follow  and  attend  him. 
To  know  this  is  to  be  strong.  It  makes  a  man 
great  to  feel  the  power  of  his  endless  years. 

III.  Under  this  influence  he  makes  his  own  plans 
large  and  long,  and  works  them  into  a  large  life. 
It  is  doubtful  if  one  can  have  a  generous  ambition 
who  does  not  see  an  ample  future  and  submit  to  its 
control.  It  is  certain  that  the  strong  men  have 
looked  before  them  and  have  worked  for  the  future. 
Cicero  asked,  "What  will  history  say  of  me  six 
hundred  years  hence  ?  I  am  more  afraid  of  that 
than  of  the  chatter  of  my  contemporaries."  "  I 
have  had  the  year  two  thousand,  and  even  the  year 
three  thousand,  often  in  my  mind,"  wrote  Macaulay. 
A  greater  man  than  either,  Gladstone,  said,  "  The 
last,  the  severest,  the  surest,  the  most  awful 
judge,  is  the  compensating  award  of  posterity." 
The  power  of  the  future  upon  character  is  marked, 
and  the  relation  of  character  to  the  future  is  evi- 
dent. "  Immortality  will  come  to  such  as  are  fit 
for  it ;  and  he  who  would  be  a  great  soul  in  future 
must  be  a  great  soul  now."     The  thought  of  the 


TUB  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.         313 

future  and  its  demands  is  a  help  in  work.  Tlie 
lesson  wliicli  seems  needless  may  be  indispensable 
at  some  time.  The  service  that  is  not  rewarded 
at  once  may  be  liberally  paid  for  at  a  later  day. 
The  3'oung  lawyer,  Daniel  Webster,  conducted  a 
suit  for  a  New  Hampshire  farmer,  and  his  fee  was 
less  than  the  money  he  expended  in  his  study  of 
the  case.  Years  afterwards  the  principle  involved 
in  it  was  needed  in  a  cause  of  large  proportions, 
and  his  ready  application  of  it  brought  him  his 
ample  reward.  He  had  made  up  his  opinion  and 
learning,  not  by  the  dimensions  of  a  trifling  dis- 
pute, but  by  the  power  of  a  long  career  in  the  law. 
In  gathering  and  employing  our  possessions, 
the  power  of  the  coming  years  is  an  advantage. 
We  need  to  earn  to-day  more  than  we  can  use 
to-day,  and  to  secure  while  on  the  earth  more 
than  we  shall  use  upon  the  earth.  If  we  were 
always  to  be  here,  our  investments  should  be  here. 
It  were  foolish  to  place  all  our  goods  in  a  world 
which  we  are  presently  to  leave.  The  instability 
of  wealth  comes  from  putting  it  in  unstable  places. 
The  present  is  continually  slipping  away.  It  is 
the  future  which  stands.  The  earth  vanishes,  but 
the  new  earth  remains.  Our  Lord  pointed  past  the 
moth  and  rust  and  tliief,  and  bade  men  lay  up  for 
themselves  treasures  in  Pleaven.  They  were  to  send 
them  in  advance  of  their  own  going.  In  this  security 
is  an  incentive  to  labor  for  treasure  and  comfort 


S14  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS. 

which  we  can  enjoy  when  onr  immediate  gains  have 
passed  out  of  our  sight.  "Riches  certainly  make 
themselves  wings ;  they  liy  away  as  an  eagle  toward 
Heaven ; "  in  a  sad  tone,  out  of  an  experience  of  loss, 
are  the  ancient  words  repeated.  Bat  wherein  lies 
the  sadness  ?  Can  nothing  fly  but  riches  ?  It  is 
with  an  exultant  voice  that  the  prophet  cries, 
"They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their 
strength ;  they  shall  mount  up  with  wings  as 
eagles."  If  the  men  are  flying  in  tlie  same  direc- 
tion with  their  riches,  the  parting  cannot  be  long. 
We  can  at  least  determine  the  direction  of  the  two 
flights.  It  will  be  a  help  to  us,  if  looking  beyond 
the  river,  we  turn  our  riches  toward  the  land 
where  we  would  dwell,  and  let  them  rise  upon  their 
strong  wings,  to  meet  us  on  the  farther  shore  wlien 
we  alight.  To  give  our  treasure  into  God's  keep- 
ing is  to  have  it  through  all  changes.  To  use  it 
for  him  is  to  enjoy  it  forever.  To  think  of  the 
permanence  of  riches  will  affect  us  well  in  our 
gaining  and  losing,  and  getting  and  giving. 

It  is  not  the  thought  of  the  endless  years  only 
which  is  given  to  us,  but  of  the  endless  years  in 
which  God  dwells,  where  his  law  rules  and  his  grace 
abounds;  where  his  children  have  their  home  in 
life  and  joy  ;  where  the}?-  see  him,  and  are  like  him, 
because  they  see  him  as  he  is.  They  call  him  a 
pagan  who  wrote,  "  It  is  pleasant  to  die,  if  there 
be  gods  ;  and  sad  to  live,  if  there  be  none."  Sa3^ 
"  God,"  and  the  sentence  is  sublime  and  profound 
in  its  truth. 


THE  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.         315 

The  power  of  the  endless  years  throws  our  life 
forward  and  upward.  Time  holds  us  less  firmly. 
We  rise  into  clearer  air,  and  feel  the  breath  from  the 
supernal  hills.  We  find  relief  from  our  question- 
ings; the  curious  Whence  changes  to  a  hopeful 
Whither,  and  we  hear  the  answer,  see  it,  aie  in- 
spired by  it.  We  do  not  set  the  broken  column 
or  the  inverted  torch  over  the  place  \vhere  we  are 
to  lie.  We  see  our  life  entering  the  heavens,  and 
mingling  its  light  with  the  brightness  of  the  perfect 
day.  We  turn  away  from  the  deeds  of  darkness 
and  walk  in  the  light.  We  come  to  Him  who  is 
"  the  same  yesterday,  and  to-day  and  forever," 
and  in  his  promises  find  hope,  in  his  mercy  life. 
*'  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also,''  he  said. 
Among  our  graves  he  spoke  :  ''  I  am  the  resurrec- 
tion." He  gives  us  more  than  the  succession  of 
years  which  is  our  certain  birthright.  He  changes 
time  to  life,  and  transforms  being  into  immortality. 
He  taught  his  apostle  to  write,  ''  The  wages  of  sin 
is  death ;  but  the  free  gift  of  God  is  eternal  life 
in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

The  power  of  an  endless  life  is  designed  for  us  all. 
It  has  a  marvellous  influence  upon  the  young.  It 
teaches  them  to  lay  long  plans  not  to  be  bounded  by 
an  earthly  commandment,  but  to  reach  on  for  a 
thousand  years.  It  incites  tliem  to  choose  a  calling 
Avhich  will  serve  them  through  the  centuries,  in 
the  training  it  gives  them,  the  spirit  it  fosters,  the 
good  it  accomplishes,  the  gains  it  secures.     It  en- 


316  CAMBRIDGE  SERMONS, 

courages  them  in  study  with  the  assurance  that 
the  enlarged  mind  will  be  large  for  the  occupation 
and  delights  of  another  world,  and  that  the  truths 
learned  here  will  attend  them  there.  It  counsels 
them  to  adopt  for  their  guidance  here  the  prin- 
ciples which  will  be  found  in  force  beyond, 
where  Gabriel  and  Michael  are  held  by  the  same 
twofold  law  which  here  declares  our  duty ;  where 
the  reaping  is  like  the  sowing ;  where  it  is  more 
blessed  to  give  than  to  receive ;  where  all  glorify 
God  and  accomplish  the  w^ork  which  he  gives  them 
to  do.  It  is  grand,  blessed,  to  be  young;  to  be  at 
the  entrance  of  the  years  which  reach  across  the 
world,  and  in  the  fullness  of  hope  and  promise  to 
go  forward  in  the  power  of  an  endless  life.  ''  I 
have  written  unto  you,  young  men,  because  ye 
are  strong." 

To  the  old,  also,  is  given  the  power  of  an  end- 
less life.  Their  years  are  not  behind  them.  Their 
work  is  not  completed.  Their  faces  are  not 
toward  the  sunset.  The  light  from  the  long  day 
shines  upon  their  path,  and  their  hope  enters  the 
city  which  hath  foundation.  This  is  the  golden 
age  of  one  who  has  lived  by  the  power  of  an  endless 
life.  Let  me  read  here  the  words  of  a  good  man 
who  in  the  fullness  of  his  ^^ears  went  on  to  God. 
He  quotes  the  saying  of  Cicero,  "  An  old  man  has 
nothing  indeed  to  hope  for ;  yet  he  is  in  so  much 
the  happier  state  than  a  young  man,  since  he  has 
already  attained  what  the  other  only  hopes  for," 


THE  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.  C17 

But  tills  will  hardly  satisfy,"  he  adds.  Then  he 
continues,  "  There  is  no  ignoring,  there  is  no  con- 
cealing tlie  inconveniences,  the  infirmities,  which 
steal  over  ns  as  we  descend  into  the  vale  of  years." 
We  who  saw  him  every  day  as  he  moved  with 
labored  step  and  bending  form  among  us,  knew 
^vlult  lie  meant.  But  we  saw  more  than  his  infirmi- 
ties. He  saw  more.  "  It  is  a  great  thing,  for  an  old 
man  to  retain  his  faculties  and  his  natural  cheer- 
fulness to  the  last.  It  is  a  great  thing  to  keep  up 
his  interest  in  good  objects,  and  in  his  favorite 
studies  and  pursuits.  It  is  great  thing  to  be  sur- 
rounded by  kind  friends,  and  all  the  endearments 
and  appliances  of  a  happy  home.  But  greater  than 
all  '  to  know  Christ,  and  the  power  of  his  resurrec- 
tion,' as  a  hope  full  of  immortality." 

The  last  word  of  Harvard  College  to  her  sons  as 
tliey  go  forth  to  their  work,  is  the  sentence  of  the 
Hebrew  prophet  wliich  she  has  written  upon  her 
wall,  which  she  would  fain  repeat  in  the  cars  of 
her  men  from  day  to  day,  that  they  may  look  into 
the  endless  years  :  Qui  ante m  dociifuerintjfalge- 
hu7it, —  "And  tliey  that  be  wise  shall  shine  as  the 
brightness  of  the  firmanent;  and  they  that  turn 
many  to  righteousness  as  the  stars  forever  and 
ever  "  —  in  perpetuus  alternitates  ;  God's  forever, 
man's  forever. 

Thoughts  like  these  which  have  been  presented 
were  in  the  heart  and  in  the  mind  of  him  whose 
name  and  life  are  now  in  our  minds  and  hearts, 


318  CAMBEIDGE  SEUMONS. 

and  will  long  remain  in  tliis  college  which  he 
loved  so  well.  He  meant  that  every  student  here 
should  feel  that  she  is  to  live  forever,  and  should 
equip  herself  for  the  endless  years.  He  knew  that 
the  study  of  truth  in  all  its  branches  would  be  of 
enduring  profit.  He  sought  that  by  the  personal 
knowledge  of  Him  who  is  the  truth,  the  student 
should  ffishion  her  purposes  and  construct  her 
life.  He  would  have  the  present  the  earnest  of 
the  future,  and  the  future  the  fulfilment  of  the 
present.  He  taught  the  boundless  need  of  the 
best  ministries,  and  would  have  that  spirit  of 
helpfulness  which  seeks  to  confer  an  endless  bene- 
fit. He  would  encourage  fidelity  by  the  vastness 
of  its  results.  He  would  liave  it  felt  that  to  bring 
a  soul  into  the  obedience  of  Christ,  to  strengthen 
one  in  the  Christian  life,  to  promote  piety  and 
holy  service,  is  to  accomplish  that  which  will 
abundantly  repay  all  efforts  and  sacrifice,  in  that 
it  will  be  an  eternal  good.  He  saw  that  it  was 
an  endless  path  which  opens  where  you  stand,  and 
that  if  you  will  enter  it,  you  shall  find  God 
walking  with  you  among  the  lilies,  and  leading 
3^ou  where,  at  length,  the  stars  will  be  gleaming 
about  your  feet. 

He  called  this  Christ's  College.  He  would  not 
have  it  bear  his  own  name,  nor  let  his  face  look 
down  upon  you  from  the  walls.  He  meant  that  you 
should  see  the  Lord.  His  last  word  to  the  teach- 
ers was,  "  Have  faith :  work  and  pray  :   be  laborers 


THE  POWER  OF  AN  ENDLESS  LIFE.         319 

together  witli  God."  Ilis  last  Avord  to  the  stu- 
dents was,  "Work  for  one  another,  and  try  to  lead 
souls  to  God.  Place  Christ  first,  in  all  things  and 
always." 

This  is  liis  benediction.     They  who  receive  it 
shall  live  by  the  power  of  an  endless  life. 


Press-work  by  Rockwell  t£-  Churchill. 


